Sidelined
by ACCOUNT HAS BEEN TERMINATED
Summary: Lightning McQueen is starting on his second racing season in the Piston Cup series and all is going well until an accident occurs...FIRST FAN FICTION! PLEASE R & R! please!
1. Chapter 1

Hey I'm new to fan fiction!! This is my first story!!! Read and review please!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars or any of it's components…I believe that honor belongs to Disney-Pixar. I'm uploading all the chapters at once, so this disclaimer goes on all the chapters!!

Chapter 1

The eighteen wheeler's ramp lowered and Lightning McQueen rolled down. He was blinded by the flashed of the paparazzi around him. Lightning did now let the flashes seem to faze him. He revved his engine, and sank down on his left front tire, sending a ray of light bouncing from his lucky chrome sticker.

"Ka chow!" Lightning exclaimed, causing the crowd around him to erupt. Lightning grinned; he had many loyal fans he was thankful for.

"Lightning!" called Kori Turbowitz, a star reporter Lightning was familiar with. "What do you think your chances are of winning today?"

Only a year ago, Lightning would have made an egocentric comment saying there was no reason for him to lose his race, but instead, he answered, "Who knows. There are a lot of risks in racing. I may win, or I may not even finish. There's no way to know."

"Thank you," said Kori. She turned to the video camera filming her. "Those were words directly from the Piston Cup point leader, Lightning McQueen," she stated.

"Lightning!" called another reporter. "What's this we hear about you dating a Porsche?"

Lightning smiled. Sally. Sally was everything to him, more than racing. Lightning had not officially asked Sally out yet, but the chemistry between the cars was amazing to him. "It may be true," he said. "But then again, it may not be. I have no comment on the subject. No more questions please."

Lightning drove down the rest of the ramp. He rolled into the restricted section and drove over to his crew chief, Doc Hudson. Doc was a racing legend whose career was cut short by a tragic racing accident. Before Doc's accident, he had won four Piston Cups, but he did not value them very much.

"Hey, Doc," Lightning said, parking next to the older car.

"Hey, Rookie," Doc said in his usual gruff manner. "How was your trip up here?"

Lightning was racing in his third race of the season, the Dakota 500.

"Nothing to complain about," Lightning said, staring across the huge asphalt parking lot to the Dinoco area. Dinoco was the largest sponsor in the racing industry. Last year, Lightning surrendered the Piston Cup in order to help The King, a former racecar, finish the race. Lightning had been offered a sponsorship from Tex, the owner of Dinoco, but he turned the offer down in order to keep his original sponsor, Rusteze medicated bumper oil.

"You're not complaining about something?" Doc asked. "That's a first."

"It is not!" Lightning retorted. "You don't think I've changed since I got to Radiator Springs?"

Lightning had been a rookie last year in his first year of racing. He was tied in first place in points with The King and Chick Hicks, Lightning's current rival. The three cars had come in a three-way tie at the final race in the Piston Cup series, the Dinoco 400. Lightning, The King, and Chick had to go to a tie-breaker race in California. On the way to California, Lightning was accidentally ejected out of his trailer and ended up in Radiator Springs. There, he met the residents: Mater, the extremely uneducated tow truck that happened to be Lightning's best friend; Luigi and Guido, the Italian cars who sold tires and were obsessed with Ferraris; Ramon, the Hispanic car that did body art; Flo, Ramon's wife who ran the small town's diner; Red, the sensitive fire truck; Lizzy, the obnoxious elderly car who was out of her mind and ran the town's merchandise store; Sheriff, who originally arrested Lightning for speeding; Serge, who was a strict military hummer who sold surplus; Fillmore, the hippy who sold his own natural fuel; and of course Doc and Sally. Doc was the town doctor and judge, and Sally was the town attorney and ran the Cozy Cone Hotel.

"Cars please make your way to the track!" blared the loudspeaker. The sound echoed throughout the stadium.

Lightning's gas tank lurched. He looked at Doc. "I'll see you in five hundred laps," he said grinning.

"Good luck, Rookie," Doc said as Lightning rolled out onto the track and lined up in his given position.

"You ready?" came Doc's voice through Lightning's intercom system.

"Yeah," Lightning said, watching the racing official raise the yellow flag. Lightning started his engine and revved it loudly, along with the forty-two other cars racing.

"Remember, float like a Cadillac…" Doc said.

"…And sting like a beamer," Lightning said, watching the green flag being raised. The official held the flag above his hood and then dropped it quickly. Lightning shot onto the track along with all his competitors. Chick Hicks automatically shoved into Lightning.

"Ouch!" Lightning exclaimed. He glanced down and saw he had a dent in his side, and the paint had been scratched off.

"You okay, Kiddo?" Doc asked.

"Yeah," Lightning replied. "It's just a dent and a scrape." "Be careful out there, Kid," Doc said. "Just get back up to the leaders."

Lightning was settled in sixth place. He easily passed four cars and ended up behind Chick. Chick was incredibly hard to pass. He always blocked the cars that attempted to pass him and he would occasionally bump the car.

Four hundred and ninety-eight laps later, Lightning and Chick were headed into the last lap. Lightning's dent was throbbing painfully but he still fought for the lead. Going into the final turn, Lightning saw an opening on the inside of Chick and he floored his engine. Lightning passed Chick on the inside and saw the finish line approaching faster and faster. He was across the finish line when Chick rammed into Lightning's back left tire. Although he had already finished in first place, Lightning slammed into the wall, causing a fair amount of pain. Lightning grinned despite the pain as he posed in victory lane, accepted his trophy, and answered a few questions from the press. After he was done answering the media's questions, Lightning drove back to his pit area to help his team clean up.

"You okay, Kid?" Doc asked. He had an expression saying he did not care, but Lightning knew he really did. "You took a beating today."

Lightning shrugged and winced slightly. His crash into the wall had increased the amount of denting and scraping. "I'm okay," he replied. "But I'm glad I get to go home for two weeks and rest up."

There were two weeks after the first three races in the Piston Cup series every other year for the officials to have meetings.

Doc nodded. "Let me see it," he said.

Lightning turned gingerly. He glanced down and saw the dent was considerably larger and most of the paint around the injury was scraped off.

Doc looked at the injury and winced slightly. "I'll have to work on that when we get back to Radiator Springs," he said. "And Ramon is going to have an engine attack when he sees the paint."

"He did just redo it," Lightning agreed. "Chick is getting rougher and rougher every race."

"If he does something like this again, I'm going to the officials," Doc growled angrily.

"Don't worry about it, Doc," Lightning said. "It's no big deal."

"Yeah it is," Doc said. "Now let's go home."


	2. Chapter 2

Please read and review!! I need criticism and encouragements!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.

Two days later, Lightning drove down his trailer's ramp and thanked Mack, the truck that pulled him around the country.

"No problem, boss," Mack said. "Take it easy."

"Will do," Lightning replied. He drove stiffly into the office of the Cozy Cone Hotel and saw Sally sitting behind her desk, scrutinizing papers.

"Hey," Lightning said.

"Oh, hey!" Sally said. She drove around the desk. "How's your side?"

"It feels a little better," Lightning replied. "I have to get Doc to fix the denting though."

Sally looked at Lightning's large dent that interrupted his sleek sides and started to rant. "Chick shouldn't be able to do that!" she said.

"Sally-"Lightning said, attempting to stop her.

"He's so self-centered!" Sally raged on. "He needs to be suspended!"

"Sally," Lightning attempted again. "Really it's okay-"

"No it isn't!" Sally exclaimed. "He's been getting worse and worse every race and it's-"

Without thinking, Lightning rolled forward and kissed Sally. Sally stopped talking immediately. Her eyes closed. Lightning backed up slowly.

"I've been trying to do that for almost a year now," he said shyly. "You mean a lot to me."

"Wow," Sally said quietly. She was silent for a few moments before saying, "I've felt the same way."

"Well hello you two!" came a very strong southern accent.

Both Lightning and Sally jumped. The shelf next to Lightning brushed against his dented side, causing him to wince. "Hey, Mater," he said.

"I told you you loved Miss Sally!" said Mater, somewhat triumphantly.

"Thanks, Mater," Lightning said. "I would have never figured it out without you."

"Yup," Mater said, still beaming. "Anyways, Doc wanted me tuh come and tell ya that he go and look at yur side now."

"Okay," Lightning said, not willing to leave Sally. "Want to come?" he asked her.

"Sure," Sally said, following him out of the door.

Together, Lightning, Sally, and Mater made their way to Doc's small hospital. On the way over, most of Radiator Spring's customers recognized Lightning and called his name out. Lightning smiled to all of them but kept going; he was ready to get the dent out of his side. He dropped into Ramon's body shop on the way to Doc's clinic. He wanted to see if Ramon had an opening later that day so he could get his side repainted.

"Ouch, Lightning," Ramon said in his Spanish accent. "Yeah, I can get you in after you get the denting out.

"Thanks, Ramon," Lightning said. "I appreciate it."

"No problem, Man," Ramon said. "Hope you feel better."

"I'm fine," Lightning said.

Five minutes later, Lightning was on Doc's examining table.

"I can get the dents out," Doc said. "But it's going to hurt."

"Okay," Lightning said. "Let's just get it over with." He glanced down at Sally who gave him a reassuring smile.

Doc connected an appliance to Lightning's side. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Lightning holding his breath.

Doc turned a wheel on the appliance quickly. Lightning felt the aluminum on his side stretching. He bared his teeth to keep himself from making a noise. It was very painful. Lightning heard the aluminum pop out completely and it was over.

"You okay, Kiddo?" Doc asked. He removed the appliance from Lightning's side.

"Yeah," Lightning said.

"You'll be sore for a few days," Doc said. "Just don't go over a hundred for a week or so."

"But Doc!" Lightning protested. "I have to train!"

"Take it easy, Rookie," Doc said. "Don't rush it. You'll be fine."

"Okay," Lightning said, still eager to get back to training. He knew he would not follow Doc's instructions completely. "Thanks, Doc."

"Uh huh," Doc said. "Take it easy, Kid."

"Are you okay?" Sally asked once she and Lightning were outside. "That looked like it hurt!"

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Lightning said smoothly. "After I get my paint redone, do you want to go for a drive?"

"You shouldn't overdo it," Sally said, looking up at Lightning.

"I'm not," Lightning said, heading into Ramon's body shop.

"I've got some work to do at the hotel," Sally said. "Come over after you're done."

"Okay," Lightning said. He pulled into the body shop as Sally headed in a different direction.

"Hey, Lightning," said Ramon. He was rummaging through a cabinet and pulled out a can of red paint. "Go ahead and get on the tarp. I'll cover your wheels in a second."

"Okay," Lightning said. "Sounds good."

Ramon quickly covered Lightning's tires and shook the can of red paint. He quickly covered the scraped area. He put a coat of polyurethane on the area and redid the Lightning bolt.

"Thanks, Ramon," Lightning said, admiring the new paint job.

"No problem, Man," Ramon said.

Lightning drove back down the main street of Radiator Springs and arrived back at the Cozy Cone. He saw Sally helping customers find the cone they were staying in, so he waited patiently for her.

"Hey," Sally said, driving from Cozy Cone number eight. "Let me see."

Lightning turned his right side to Sally. "You can't even tell anything happened," he said happily.

"Can you?" Sally asked seriously.

"Sally I'm fine," Lightning insisted. His tone softened slightly. "I wouldn't lie to you. Besides, getting banged up a little is just part of the game."

"Okay," said Sally. "Let me close up the office so we can go on that drive."

"Sounds good," Lightning said. His side was really feeling better, but he could tell it was not fully back to normal yet. "Where should we go?" he asked once Sally had returned.

"Wheel Well," Sally replied.

Together, the racecar and the Porsche drove up to Wheel Well Hotel, an old deserted hotel that Lightning turned into his racing headquarters. It was by a beautiful waterfall. Lightning parked where the view was the best.

"What do you look for in someone you have a relationship with?" Lightning asked, staring out to the horizon.

Sally smiled sideways at Lightning. "Every quality you have," she replied.

"Seriously, Sally," Lightning said insecurely. "I want to be perfect for you."

"I'm being serious, Lightning," Sally said. "I fell for the real you, and now that I'm dating you, I want you to be the same car you always have been."

"I really like you, Sally," Lightning said.

Sally smiled. "I heard," she said.

Lightning turned to where he was facing Sally. He pulled forward and kissed her.

"Hey, Rookie!"

Lightning jumped backwards and wheeled around to see Doc parked behind him.

"I need to talk to you," Doc said shortly. "Come on."

"I'll see you later," Sally said. She sped down the slope that lead up to Wheel Well and disappeared.

"Couldn't this have waited?" Lightning asked, both embarrassed and annoyed.

"No," Doc said. "Mainly because what you were doing is what I need to talk to you about."

"You want to talk to me about my relationship with Sally?" Lightning asked, incredibly confused.

"It's a bad idea," Doc said.

"What do you mean?" Lightning asked, his tone a bit colder.

"You don't need to be distracted," Doc said. "Not now. You're doing too well."

Lightning furrowed his eyebrows. "I love her," he said. "I won't do well if I can't date her."

"See, she's already distracting you," Doc said coldly.

"Doc, I respect your racing judgment, but I love Sally, and I'd be willing to quit racing if I had to choose between it and Sally," Lightning said defensively.

Doc glared at Lightning. "And I thought you were a racecar," he said, colder than ever.

Lightning returned the glare, spun his tires, and tore away from Doc, going way over one hundred miles per hour. Lightning was unaware of the pain behind his front right wheel as he tore through the dusty road of the Midwest back to Radiator Springs. He sprinted through the main street, into the parking lot of the Cozy Cone, and into his own Cozy Cone. Lightning slammed the door behind him and sulked, just then realizing the pain behind his tire.

Two weeks later, Lightning and Doc were still not talking to one another. Lightning won his next race without any injuries, and left the track directly after the race to spend two days in Radiator Springs with Sally.

A month later, Lightning was tied with Doc's record of most season wins. He was going into his first qualifier race for the Piston Cup.

Once again, when Mack lowered the ramp to Lightning's trailer, Lightning rolled down revving his engine. He sank down on his front left tire.

"Ka Chow!" he exclaimed.

The crowd erupted around him. Lightning grinned and drove down the ramp, surrounded by the media.

"Lightning!" called one reporter. "Do you think you'll break the Hudson Hornet's record for most season wins?"

Lightning shrugged. "There's no way to know," he said. "But I think the odds are in my favor."

Lightning and Doc were still not talking. Lightning wanted to break Doc's record badly to prove he was the better racecar.

"No more questions, please," Lightning said to the reporters. He drove into the restricted area and saw Sally talking to Doc. Neither car looked happy. When Sally drove up to Lightning he kissed her briefly.

"Hey," he said happily surprised. "I didn't know you were coming today.

"I can't see you anymore," Sally said, tears streaming down her hood. She sobbed and sped away, leaving Lightning in the middle of the parking lot with a shocked expression on his face.

"All racecars, make your way to the track!" the loudspeaker called.

Lightning sped up to Doc. "You told her to dump me!" he raged.

"Get on the track," Doc said gruffly. He turned and got on his crew chief stand.

Lightning got on the track and lined up. He felt tears gather in his windshield, but he desperately tried to shake it off; he needed to concentrate on the race.

Two hundred laps later, Lightning was in tenth place. There were fifty laps left in the race, but he was too distracted to actually concentrate on the race.

"Get your head in the race!" Doc raged over the intercom system.

Out of anger and rage, Lightning sped past nine cars and ended up behind Chick. He stayed there until there were five laps left in the race. He then floored his engine, attempting to pass Chick on the outside. There was an incredibly narrow space between Chick and the wall that Lightning thought he could fit through.

"Kid, don't do it!" Doc exclaimed.

"I don't listen to your advice anymore," Lightning said coldly. He sped up faster and entered the space between Chick and the wall.

"No you don't, McQueen! This race belongs to me, Chick Hicks!" Chick exclaimed. He slammed up against Lightning.

The paint was stripped from Lightning's sides. His front left tire blew out, causing him to roll three times. Once he was still and on his side, Lightning attempted to roll back onto his tires, but a car came out of nowhere, smashing into Lightning's under side. Lightning was catapulted into the air, and landed heavily on his left side. He heard the shattering of glass and was in extreme pain. But once again, Lightning was hit by another car, and another, then another, and then two racecars at once hit Lightning, each going one hundred and eighty-eight miles per hour. One last car hit Lightning head on and everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.

"And then I went and asked Doreen to be my girlfriend, much like you and Miss Sally," came a distant voice. "But she already had plans to go and move away, so she went and left me. I didn't love no one other again. Instead, I took to tractor tippin'…"

Lightning groaned. He opened his eyes and saw the fuzzy outline of Mater, talking to nobody in particular.

"And then Doreen came right on back here tuh Radiator Springs," Mater continued.

"Mater," Lightning said weakly. "That's really interesting and all, but shut up."

"Yur awake!" Mater exclaimed. "Hey everybody, McQueen's awake!"

"How long have I been unconscious?" Lightning asked, attempting to clear his head.

"I don't know," Mater said. "But you've been knocked out for right near a week I suppose."

All of a sudden, it all flooded back. Chick, the wreck, being hit by many cars.

"I feel terrible,' Lightning groaned. His whole body was throbbing. Underneath, Lightning felt especially tender. He attempted to move forward, but a huge brace on his front wheel axle prevented him from moving anywhere.

All of a sudden, the whole town seemed to surround Lightning. Voices called his name, making him even dizzier than he was already.

"Everybody out!" roared an angry, very familiar voice.

As soon as the voices left, Doc approached Lightning. "How do you feel, Kiddo?" he asked.

Lightning forgot his argument with Doc. "Not great, Doc," he admitted, both weakly and groggily.

"Yuh look about the same as yuh feel," Mater interjected. "Yur sides are all dented up and-"

"Thanks Mater," Doc interrupted. "Why don't you go and make sure everybody's doing their job outside?"

"Okey dokey!" Mater said happily, leaving the room.

"What hurts the worst, Son?" Doc asked once Mater was completely gone.

"My head and my underside," Lightning said, weaker than before.

"You got hit head-on," Doc explained. "you have a severe concussion."

"I don't remember that hit," Lightning said.

"And you got hit hard on your underside about five times," Doc said.

"I do remember those," Lightning said. "Did I break anything under there?"

"Oh yeah," Doc said. "Your front wheel axle on the right side is basically smashed. We almost had to replace it. Your engine was crushed, so we had to replace that. Your tank was displaced, and other pipes are severely bruised."

"How long until I can race again?" Lightning asked.

Doc hesitated. "A long time, Kid."

"As in how long?" Lightning asked, panicked.

"At least the rest of the season," Doc said.

Lightning groaned. "The rest of the season?" he asked.

"Yeah," Doc said. "You got pretty banged up. The good news is Chick's out for the rest of the season too. He's suspended for as long as you're out."

"You got him suspended?" Lightning asked, his mood lifting slightly.

"Yeah I did!" Doc said forcefully. "But there's another thing we need to discuss. I'm sorry I got into your personal life, Kiddo. I should have minded my own business. I got in-between you and Sally and look where I landed you. I'm really sorry, Rookie. I feel like this is kind of my fault."

"No it's not, Doc," Lightning said weakly. "I was the one who was too aggressive on the track. Not you. You warned me not to try to pass Chick."

Suddenly, the room started turning fuzzier. Lightning closed his eyes and groaned as a particularly hard throb ripped through his body.

"Kid? Don't fade out on me!" Doc said. "Lightning!"

But it was too late. Lightning was already gone.

When Lightning resurfaced, the pain quickly returned. He groaned and opened his eyes to see Sally.

"Hey," Sally said softly. "How do you feel?"

"A little banged up," Lightning said weakly.

"I'm sorry I broke up with you, Lightning," Sally said. "I shouldn't have listened to Doc."

"Are you saying you want to go out with me again?" Lightning asked.

"I never stopped," Sally said. Then, out of nowhere, Sally burst into tears. "This is all my fault!"

"Sally," Lightning said softly. "This isn't your fault. I was the one acting stupid driving at two hundred miles an hour."

Sally sniffed. "I never stopped loving you, Lightning," she said.

"I know," Lightning said. He attempted to drive forward, but he still could not.

"Don't move," Sally warned him. "You can't move for at least a week, maybe more."

Lightning nodded slowly and sighed. He then asked a question he had been dreading about finding out. "Sally, how beat up do I look?"

"I have your wreck on tape," Sally said. "Do you want to see it or would you rather not?""Go ahead," Lightning said miserably. "I'm going to see it at some point anyway."

Sally nodded and went to the television. She turned it on and Lightning saw himself on the television. Lightning saw Chick slamming against him, his tire blowing out, and himself being hit by seven or so other cars. After Lightning was still on the racetrack, the camera zoomed in on the unconscious racecar. Lightning was almost unrecognizable. There was smoke coming from Lightning's hood, and every part of him was dented. The paint on his body was mainly gone. Lightning saw Doc sprint out onto the track and call out desperately for assistance.

Sally turned off the television. She gave Lightning a pitying look. "They're calling it the worst wreck in racing history," she said. "We didn't think you were going to make it, but you fought for it. Do you remember waking up on the scene?"

Lightning tried to think back to his wreck. "No," he said. "I can't remember much at all from right before the wreck on. I just remember being hit."

"You didn't say much," Sally said. "From what Doc said you were really disoriented." She gave a small smile. "Doc said you mentioned my name and blacked out again."

"I even remember you when I'm dying," Lightning said. "That's interesting." He remembered what he saw on the television. "Do I still look like I did?"

"Pretty much," said Sally. "The paramedics straightened your hood and repaired your windows, but other than that, you pretty much look the same. Most of the damage wasn't on the outside though."

"I know," Lightning said, very depressed. "I'm out for the season."

"I know you," Sally said. "You're going to come back and win the Piston Cup."

A week later, Doc approached Lightning. "Do you want to try to start driving a little?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lightning said eagerly.

"It's going to hurt," Doc said. "When you drive, you carry eighty percent of your weight on your front tires, and seems that your front wheel axle is basically crushed, it's going to be painful. You were born a front wheel drive car, which is fairly rare for a racecar."

"I'll take my chances," Lightning said. "I need to get out of this room."

"Okay," Doc said. "I'm going to take the brace off and we'll take it one step at a time."

Lightning nodded in agreement. He winced as Doc took the large brace off and replaced it with a smaller brace.

"Give your accelerator a little juice," Doc said as Lightning readied himself.

Lightning started his engine and attempted to slowly drive forward. He inched forward, but had to stop when the pain started. It was terrible, intense pain that did not stop.

"Stay with me, Kid," Doc said calmly. "It's normal. Just get used to the pain and we'll try again."

"It's not stopping!" Lightning grimaced, closing his eyes.

"That's because you shifted your weight onto your front axle," Doc said. "You just have to get used to the pain. It will happen in a minute or two. Just relax."

Lightning nodded. He took a deep breath and tried to forget about the burning pain that was ripping through his front wheel axle. Lightning held his breath as he rolled forward again, only to receive pain that was worse than the first round. He gasped.

"It's okay, Rookie," Doc said. "You have to keep going."

Lightning nodded again. The pain eventually subsided a bit. Lightning took it as an opportunity to drive forward again. He accelerated slightly and braced himself for pain, but when it came, it was not nearly as bad as it had been. Lightning turned down into the main hall of Doc's small hospital. He attempted to accelerate slightly down the straight hall and made it up to ten miles per hour.

"Good, Kid," Doc said encouragingly. "You can drive up to ten miles an hour. We'll see if we can make it up to thirty in a week or so."

"Okay," Lightning agreed. "Am I allowed to go as long as I want?"

"Yeah," said Doc. "But you're going to get really tired, so go easy on yourself."

"Okay," Lightning said. "And I still have to stay in the hospital?"

"Yeah," Doc said, "at least for a little while longer."

"Okay," Lightning said. "Thanks, Doc."

"No problem, Kid," Doc said. "I'll see you later."

"Sounds good," Lightning said. He drove out of the hospital into the scorching sunlight. After fifty feet, Lightning was exhausted. He pulled into Flo's diner to get fuel to drink.

"Hey, Lightning," Flo greeted him. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Lightning replied. This was true. Although he was still in a substantial amount of pain, it felt better to Lightning to be able to get around. It had been depressing to stay in the hospital room alone.

"That's good," said Flo. "What'll you take?"

"Anything," Lightning said. "It's hard just to drive down the street without getting exhausted."

"Okay," said Flo in her motherly voice. "I'll get you something."

"Thanks, Flo," Lightning said gratefully.

"No problem," said Flo, turning around to get Lightning's fuel.

Just then, Mater drove up. "What are ya doin' outta the hospital?" he asked.

"I'm allowed to drive around a little," Lightning replied. He shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"Well then let's go tractor tippin' tonight then!" Mater said excitedly. "We haven't done that since I don't know when! And those tractors, they is so dumb! It'll be fun!"

"I can't drive more than ten miles per hour," Lightning said glumly.

"Why?" Mater asked, with a shocked comical expression on his face.

"I wrecked, remember?" Lightning asked.

Mater's face went blank for several moments. "Oh yeah!" he said, his face Lightning up. "You're still all dented up and everythin'!"

"Yeah," Lightning said consciously. "I know."

Just then, Flo came back with Lightning's fuel. "Here you go, Lightning," she said.

"Thanks, Flo," Lightning said. "I appreciate it."

"No problem," said Flo. She turned around and drove back into her diner.

Lightning quickly drained the fuel and said goodbye to Mater. He turned down the street to see Sally, but then remembered Mater's comment on how dented up he was. Lightning turned back around and went to see Doc. He entered Doc's office and saw Doc studying the tape of his wreck.

When Doc saw Lightning, he immediately stopped the tape. "Hey Rookie," he said. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah," Lightning said. "Getting out of the hospital helps, but I'm still really sore."

Doc nodded. "You'll be that way for another three weeks or so," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"Could I get all of the dents out?" Lightning asked hopefully.

"I can't get that many dents out, Kiddo," Doc said, almost hesitantly. "I'm going to have to replace your aluminum."

Lightning's tank lurched. He knew aluminum replacements were very, very painful. "Whatever you have to do," he said quietly. "Do you have the aluminum?"

"Yeah," Doc said. "I'm going to give you titanium. It's really tough, and it's the lightest metal available. Come on."

"I have to tell Sally," Lightning said, his gas tank churning.

Doc nodded. "Go ahead."

Lightning nodded and left the hospital. He drove at his slow pace down to the Cozy Cone and saw Sally reading at her desk.

"Hey!" she said, driving around her desk. "How do you feel?"

"Sore," Lightning said. "Listen, Sally," he said. "I have to get some major surgery, and I want you to be there when I wake up."

"What kind of surgery?" Sally asked fearfully.

"An aluminum replacement," Lightning said. "But will you be there when I wake up?"

"Yeah," said Sally. "Lightning I…"

"I love you too," Lightning said softly. He carefully drove up to Sally and kissed her. "I'll see you when I wake up."

"Okay," Sally said. A tear slid down her smooth hood and landed on the floor beside her.

Lightning gave Sally a brave smile and gingerly backed out of the office. Then he drove back down the road to Doc's hospital.

"I'm back," he said nervously.

"Good," Doc said. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Lightning said. He drove slowly onto the table.

"I'm going to have to knock you out for this one," Doc said.

"Okay," Lightning said, thankful he wasn't going to have to feel the pain right when it started.

Doc put fuel into Lightning's gas tank. Lightning began to feel drowsy, and then he nodded off.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.

"Lightning? Kid?"

Lightning slowly opened his eyes and saw the fuzzy outline of Doc with Sally right behind him.

"Hey," Lightning said groggily, but then he felt it. Every inch of his titanium burned. He closed his eyes, desperately fighting off nausea.

"Hey," Sally said, pulling up to Lightning. "Are you okay?"

"It hurts," Lightning said, almost desperately. The burning was reaching such a pitch to where Lightning had to fight for consciousness.

"It's normal," said Doc. "Just take deep breaths."

"Is there any pain fuel I could take?" Lightning asked, fighting the splitting hood ache he was experiencing.

"No," said Doc sadly. "Unfortunately, the only pain fuel also boosts speed, which is illegal for racecars."

"I'm beginning to wonder why I became a racecar," Lightning said.

"You don't mean that," Sally said comfortingly. "You're the best racecar there is."

"Good racecars don't wreck," Lightning said icily.

"Oh, so I wasn't a good racecar?" Doc asked.

"I don't know," Lightning said edgily, trying to clear his head, but he slowly drifted into darkness.

Lightning opened his eyes and saw Mater.

"Hey, Bud!" Mater said excitedly. "Yur awake! It's been right near a week since ya went and got yur new titanium!"

"Seriously?" Lightning asked. His titanium burned dully, but it was not even close to what it had been before. "Where's Doc and Sally?"

"Uh," said Mater, putting on his comical, confused expression. "I dunno. Miss Sally said she needed to get away for a while and Doc's around here somewhere."

"When did Sally leave?" Lightning asked, panicked.

"About two days ago I guess," Mater said. "She said she was stressed and she was gonna come back in a few days."

"Oh," Lightning said. He began to wonder if Sally's absence had to do with his rude behavior. "Do you know if I'm allowed to drive, Mater?"

"I dunno," said Mater. "But I wouldn't wanna go outta this here room if I was you, seeing that as ya don't have no paint on ya."

Lightning glanced to his side and saw his bare titanium shining in the light around him. "Mater, could you please get Doc for me?" he asked.

"Why sure I can!" Mater said happily. He turned and drove out of the structure.

Ten minutes later, Doc drove quickly into the room. "You okay, Kid?"

"I feel better," Lightning said. "But where did Sally go?"

"Taking a vacation," Doc replied. "I told her she needed one. The whole time you were out, she was sitting here crying, so I told her to go back to the city and see her family."

"Oh," said Lightning. He looked sadly out of the door of the structure.

"I'm sorry, Kid," Doc said, "but she was miserable. She even slept here."

"Okay," Lightning said depressed. "Do you think I can get my pain put on today?"

"Yeah," Doc said. "You're titanium feels better, right?"

"Yeah," Lightning said.

An hour later, Lightning was fully painted again. "Can I go outside?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure," said Doc. "No going over twenty."

"Okay," Lightning agreed. "Thanks, Ramon."

"No problem, Man," Ramon replied. "Take care of yourself."

"Will do," Lightning replied. He drove out of the hospital and saw Mater, Sheriff, Lizzy, Luigi, Guido, and Flo all parked at the diner. Lightning made his way over to the café and parked beside Mater.

"Well look who's out!" said Sheriff warmly. "How are you feeling, McQueen?"

"Pretty good," Lightning replied. "A couple aches and pains, but overall okay."

"That's good," Sheriff said wisely.

Lightning nodded.

"What's this I hear about you dating Sally?" asked Lizzy in her feeble elderly tone, obviously outraged. "Especially after you lead me on like you did!"

"Uh," said Lightning. He knew Lizzy was fairly close to losing her mind and he had done nothing to lead h on, but he still did not know how to respond. But there was no need. Lizzy had already stormed off.

"Well," said Flo. "That was unexpected."

"Yes, it was," said Luigi in his Italian accent. "Are you really dating Sally?"

Lightning felt uncomfortable in answering, but Mater took it upon himself to answer.

"Dang tootin' they is!" he said proudly. "I'm the one who told Lightning he loved Miss Sally in the first place!"

Flo laughed triumphantly. "It's about time!" she said.

"Yeah," said Lightning, still very uncomfortable, both mentally and physically.

That night, Lightning could not sleep. He could not help but worry about Sally. Hours later, sleep finally caught up with him, and he fell asleep.

The next morning, Lightning woke up very early. He stretched but then regretted it when a spasm of pain shot through his underside. Lightning drove down the main street, pausing every once in a while to take a picture with a few of the town's customers.

Feeling lost without Sally, Lightning drove down to the practice track. One he reached the track, Lightning drove up to his maximum speed of twenty miles per hour. After three times around the track, he noticed Doc watching him.

"Hey, Doc," said Lightning, "some exciting racing action out there, huh?"

"Hey, Kid," replied Doc. "It's a start. Keep following orders and you'll be at fifty miles per hour in a month."

"Only fifty?" Lightning asked, his tank lurching. "How am I supposed to get back on the track by the start of next season?"

"It'll all come in time," Doc said evenly.

"What if they kick me out like they did to you?" Lightning asked fearfully.

Doc had been in a racing accident after his fifth season of racing. He had been out for the rest of the season, and when he went back to racing, nobody wanted him back.

"You're still a rookie," said Doc. "I was starting to be old news when I got hurt."

"Oh okay," Lightning said, a little reassured.

"If you want to take it up to twenty-five you can, but no more than that," Doc said, somewhat sternly. "You may want to rush it, but take it easy. The engine we put in you isn't even a racing engine, so it can't power you enough to get over ninety."

"Why don't I have a racing engine in me?" Lightning asked, extremely shocked.

"There wasn't an available racing engine," said Doc. "A car can only go without an engine for five minutes, and you already had a dead engine for two. We were a little rushed…"

"I get it," said Lightning. "I'm glad I have an engine, but I miss racing…"

"I know you do," said Doc. "I have to go, but remember, no going over twenty-five."

"Okay," said Lightning, turning to face the track.

Lightning started his engine and started moving forward. He made it up to twenty, and then made it up to twenty-five. Lightning rounded the turn and saw that Doc was gone. Lightning accelerated more to thirty miles an hour, and then to thirty-five. All of a sudden, Lightning's wheel axles began to throb violently, so he quickly slowed down.

"Were you supposed to be going that fast?"

Lightning spun around to see Sally, not even noticing the pain the spin caused. He quickly drove up to Sally and kissed her. "I missed you," he said hugging her. "Where'd you go?"

"I went back to California to see my family," she said. "You look great."

"I'm feeling better," he said. "Once I got paint put on my titanium it didn't burn anymore."

"Good," Sally said. She moved closer to Lightning and hugged him. "But were you really supposed to be going that fast?"

"No," Lightning admitted, hugging Sally back. "But you don't understand, I miss it so much, Sally. It's like someone stole my identity. I'm nothing without racing."

"That's not true," Sally said. "You're Lightning McQueen, you're the best racecar in the world, you're my best friend, and the love of my life."

Lightning smiled at Sally. "Let's go on a drive," he said.

"We're not going over thirty," Sally said.

"Fine," Lightning said. He pulled away from Sally. "Come on!"

Sally laughed.

Together, Lightning and Sally drove through the town and out onto Route sixty-six. They drove up to Wheel Well. There, they pulled up to the edge of the cliff and looked down upon the beautiful landscape. Neither Lightning nor Sally said anything for a while.

"You're beautiful," he told Sally, turning to face her.

"You're pretty attractive yourself," Sally said inching forward.

Lightning kissed Sally. "You're my best friend too," he told her.

"Hey, Kid!" came Doc's voice through Lightning's intercom system

Lightning sighed and broke away from Sally. "Yeah, Doc?" he asked.

"Come on, it's time to load up!"

"What?" Lightning asked. "I can't race."

"Well that's a given," Doc said. "But you can still get points for just going to the races. Where are you?"

"Wheel Well," Lightning said.

"Mack and I will meet you up there," Doc said.

"Can Sally come?" Lightning asked. "Please?" He was not thrilled about seeing other cars race when he could not himself.

"Is she back?" Doc asked.

"Yeah, and my trailer is made for two cars," Lightning said.

"Yeah, that's fine," said Doc. "I've done enough to mess you two up."

"Thanks," Lightning said. He happily turned to Sally. "Do you want to come to the race with me?"

"Yeah," Sally said. "I guess I could take another vacation. But I thought you wanted to keep us a secret."

"They have to find out sometime anyway," Lightning said. "I'm too proud to keep a secret now anyway."

"Oh, really?" Sally asked. She laughed. "I'm surprised you didn't scream it to the world the first time you kissed me."

"There was no need to," Lightning said. "Mater took care of it for me."

Sally laughed. "Mater is…"

"One in a million," Lightning agreed. "But he is the most loyal car I know, other than you of course. Everybody hated me when I first came here except for Mater."

"I never hated you," Sally said. "I just found you incredibly obnoxious."

Lightning laughed. "I've changed though, right?"

"Definitely," said Sally. "But you're still hot-headed."

"I know," Lightning said. "If I wasn't, I'd be racing today."

Sally gently kissed Lightning's cheek. "It's Chick's fault, not yours," she said. "You know The King would have just blocked you."

"I guess," Lightning said.

Just then, Doc and Mack pulled up.

"Load up, Kids!" Mack said cheerfully.

"Kid, you back in first, and then Sally pull in after him," Doc instructed.

Five minutes later, Lightning and Sally were loaded into the trailer, and on their way to the Rusteze Five hundred.

"This is a nice trailer," Sally observed, looking around at all the furnishings.

"Thanks," Lightning said. "I used to spend a lot of time on the road, so I needed a nice place to stay," said Lightning.

"You even have your own bobble-heads?" Sally asked, grinning. "That's pretty narcissistic."

"It is not," Lightning said defiantly. "The company that made them gave me a few. Is that I crime?"

Just then, Lightning's trailer phone started ringing. "Hello?" Lightning asked.

"Hey my man, how ya feeling?" came Harv, Lightning's agent's voice through the speaker phone.

"Can't complain," Lightning said. "What's up?"

"Your stock's booming!" cried Harv. "Ever since your last race, your merchandise has been selling more and more! You need to get hurt more often!"

"No thank you," Lightning said, rolling his eyes and looking toward Sally.

"And you're pulling in an extra two million from merchandising and an extra five million from Chick's personal income!" Harv exclaimed.

"Okay, Harv. That sounds good," Lightning said.

"Good, well I gotta jet," said Harv. "See ya later, Kid. Break another axle!"

"Okay," Lightning said, rolling his eyes again. "Bye."

The phone line went dead.

"How much do you make?" Sally asked, her eyes wide.

"About one hundred million a year," Lightning said honestly. "But Harv gets ten percent, Doc gets about twenty-five percent, Guido and Luigi get about ten percent, Ramon gets five percent, and Mack gets fifteen percent. And I'm going to start donating to charities too."

"You make one hundred million dollars a year," Sally said faintly.

"Actually about fifty-five million," Lightning corrected her. "But I said I was going to start donating to charities. I don't need all the money I have."

"You're very considerate," Sally said.

"I wasn't before," Lightning sighed. "I'm just making up for lost time."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars. I'd love to, but I don't.

Ten long, very boring hours later, Lightning rolled out of his trailer stiffly. His wheel axles were throbbing from speeding the day before. He and Sally were surrounded by reporters. Lightning was used to it, but Sally's eyes were large from the flashes and questions.

"No questions, please!" Lightning called out. He pushed through the crowd and into the restricted section. There, Kori Turbowitz rushed up to him.

Kori was a highly respected journalist who actually understood her boundaries, so she was allowed in the restricted section.

"Hey, Kori," Lightning greeted her.

"Hey, Lightning," Kori said smiling. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good," Lightning said, getting tired of the question. "A few bumps and bruises, but overall okay."

"Good," Kori said. "You don't mind if I quote you on any of this, do you?"

"Not at all," Lightning replied.

"What are your feelings towards Chick Hicks right now?" Kori asked.

"Pretty bitter," Lightning said frowning. "There was no excuse for what he did. I'm definitely angry, and personally, I'm glad he's out for at least as long as I'm out."

Kori wrote Lightning's words in her notebook "And who is this?" Kori asked, gesturing to Sally.

"This is my girlfriend, Sally Carrera," Lightning said, looking lovingly down to Sally. "I met her when I first arrived in Radiator Springs."

"Did you hear that?" asked a reporter from the gate of the restricted section. "Lightning McQueen really is dating a Porsche!"

"Sorry," Kori said. "You weren't trying to keep that a secret, were you?"

"No, it's fine," Lightning reassured her. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay," Kori said, closing her notebook. "Thanks for the information."

"No problem," Lightning said.

"Racecars please make your way to the track!" the loudspeaker called.

Lightning felt a familiar jolt in his tank. He started moving towards the track, but when he felt his wheel axle begin to throb, he stopped and winced. Lightning watched longingly as his former competitors made their way to the racetrack. He sighed and turned away.

"Are you okay?" Sally asked.

"I miss it," Lightning said lowly. "I should have told Doc I wasn't up to coming."

"You'll be back before you know it," Sally reassured him.

"Next season, yeah," Lightning said, discouraged. "I don't want to be here."

"Do you want to leave?" Sally asked.

"I want to be anywhere but here," Lightning said. He saw Doc across the parking lot and drove over to him.

"Hey, Kid," Doc said. "What's up?"

"I don't want to be here," Lightning said unhappily. "I don't want to see all these cars doing what I want to do while I'm stuck on the sidelines."

"Okay, Kid," Doc said. "You and Sally can go into the city and have some fun there. I'll call you when the race is over and we'll figure out a plan."

"Sounds good," Lightning said, thankful to be able to leave. He turned around and drove back to Sally. "Come on," he said. "Doc said to go into the city for a while and we'll figure out what we're doing later."

"Okay," Sally said.

"Let's get out of here," Lightning said. He drove through the gate of the restricted section and through the reporters. Lightning drove out of the gate and into the city with Sally right behind him. Once he was out of the stadium, Lightning pulled into a nearby parking lot. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Doc's number.

"Hey, Kiddo," Doc said through the receiver.

"Hey," Lightning replied. "We're out."

"Good," Doc said. "Why don't you and Sally stay in a hotel tonight and stay in the city a couple days? Mack can wait around a few days."

"Seriously?" Lightning asked.

"Yeah," Doc replied. "You don't really need any monitoring at night anymore. Just go have fun. I'll see you in a couple of days."

"Okay," Lightning said happily. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," said Doc.

Lightning hung his phone up and turned to Sally. "Doc says to stay in the city a couple days. Mack can hang out here for a while."

Sally smiled. "Are you up to it?"she asked.

"How could I not be?" Lightning asked happily. "I've been cooped up in the same room for over two weeks, and now I can actually go places!"

Sally laughed. "Where are we going to stay?" she asked.

"We can find a nice hotel," Lightning said. He then looked into the sunset. "We might need to find one now."

"Okay," Sally agreed.

Thirty minutes later, Lightning and Sally found the "Take a Brake" five star suites.

"Do you want to stay here?" Lightning asked, looking down at Sally.

"It looks expensive," Sally said apprehensively.

"Don't worry about it," Lightning said. "Chick's paying, remember?"

Sally laughed. "Sounds good to me," she said.

Lightning opened the door for Sally and drove in behind her. Right away, a young mustang drove up to Lightning.

"Are you Lightning McQueen?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Yeah," Lightning said, smiling down at the young car.

"Could you sign by racing flag?" the mustang asked. He held up a Lightning McQueen silk racing flag.

Lightning laughed. "No problem," he said. He signed his name and gave the pen back to the young sports car.

"Thank you so much, Mr. McQueen!" the youngster said, his excitement showing in his voice. He sped back to his parents.

"Thanks, McQueen," said the boy's father. "You've made his day."

Lightning laughed again. "No problem," he said.

Fifteen minutes later, Lightning and Sally both got keys to their rooms. Lightning drove into his suite and drove directly onto the bed. He sighed as his wheel axle got some relief. It had been bothering him.

"Are you okay?" came Sally's voice several minutes later.

"Yeah," Lightning said, his eyes opening. He had dozed off.

"Are you tired?" Sally asked.

"A little," Lightning said. "This is the furthest I've had to drive since my accident. I need to regain my endurance."

"You will," Sally said. "Do you want to stay in for dinner tonight?"

"That would probably work out better," Lightning said.

"Well, I'm going back to my room for a quick shower," Sally said. "I'll come back when I'm done and we can order something."

"Okay," Lightning said. He saw his television and turned it on. He was surprised to see himself on the television screen.

"Lightning McQueen made his first appearance at a track since his horrific wreck three weeks ago. He introduced his new girlfriend, Sally Carrera to the racing industry, but Lightning did not stay long at the track," said the reporter. "Kori Turbowitz got a brief interview with McQueen's crew chief, the famous Hudson Hornet.

"Doc, why did Lightning leave right after the start of the race?" Kori asked.

"There was no point in him staying," Doc said gruffly. "He misses being on the track, and it just depresses him to watch other cars do what he wants to be doing."

"Do you think determination will help him do well in the next season he races in?" Kori asked.

"Yup," said Doc. "He's gonna start racing again next season so he'll have plenty of time to heal and get back in shape."

"What is the soonest time it would be possible for him to race?" Kori asked.

"No clue," Doc said. "He has to have another engine replacement and I don't want him to rush it, so I just want him to shoot for next season so I now he'll be ready."

"What injuries did McQueen actually sustain?" Kori asked.

"Too many," Doc said shortly. "A crushed engine, a crushed wheel axle, broken windows and windshield, and a severe concussion. Those are just the main ones. "

"Wow," Kori said. "When he was on the track right after the wreck, what were his chances of survival?"

"About thirty percent," Doc replied. "We barely got him a motor before four minutes were up. It's not even a racing motor."

Kori shook her head dramatically. "Thank you, Mr. Hudson," she said. Kori turned to face the camera. "Those were words directly from Doc Hudson, Lightning McQueen's crew chief."

The television then turned to commercials. Lightning sighed.

"What's wrong?" Sally asked, rolling back into the room.

Lightning jumped and winced. "Nothing," he said.

"Okay," Sally said, not looking reassured. "So do you just want to order room service?"

"Yeah," Lightning said, reading over the room service menu. "What do you want?"

Sally looked at the hotel menu. "I'll take the blueberry fuel," she said.

Lightning nodded and used the hotel phone to call down to the hotel restaurant. He ordered Sally's blueberry fuel and strawberry electrolyte fuel for himself.

Thirty minutes later, a hotel employee brought the fuel for Lightning and Sally.

"Thanks," Sally said, accepting the fuel. She closed the door and gave Lightning his fuel. As she sipped her fuel, she eyed Lightning nervously.

"What?" Lightning asked.

"You're not acting like yourself," Sally said.

"Well," Lightning said, "about three weeks ago, my life kind of took a nasty turn, and I think you'd act differently too."

"I mean even more differently," Sally said. "You seem quieter."

"There hasn't been much to say," Lightning replied.

Sally sighed and did not say anything else for a while.

"Sorry if that sounded rude," Lightning said a few minutes later. "I've been in a bad mood lately."

"With good reason," Sally replied. "Just ask if you need any help doing anything. Don't be embarrassed."

"I would ask you if I needed help," Lightning said defensively.

"Okay," Sally said. She leaned against him gently. "This is nice."

"What is?" Lightning asked, glancing down at her.

"Us being able to get away," Sally said. "I love Radiator Springs, but sometimes it's not private enough for me."

"Yeah," Lightning agreed, "especially with Mater."

"And Doc," Sally added quickly.

Just then, Lightning's car phone rang. "Hello?" he asked in a flat voice.

"You two settled in a hotel, Rookie?" Doc asked.

"Yeah," Lightning said.

"Good," Doc said. "A rookie won the race today."

Lightning's tank lurched. "Oh," he said uncomfortably.

"Don't worry, Kid," Doc said. "You've got more heart than this car. You'd have won the race today by a mile. But you'll be back before you know it, don't worry."

"Okay," Lightning said, not completely reassured.

"And have you heard the other news?" Doc asked, his voice turning dark.

"Do I want to know?" Lightning asked.

"Chick told the disciplinary board that he didn't see you coming up on the outside and they believed him. He'll be back next week."

"No!" Lightning groaned. "I can't believe this! How could the board believe him!"

"Who knows," Doc said. "But this means Chick'll probably win the Cup again."

"I figured that," Lightning said glumly.

"Well I'm filing for an appeal. Tell Sally when she gets back we're going to have a meeting, all three of us. Just enjoy your vacation, Rookie. We'll get him."

"Okay," Lightning said. He knew if there was an attorney that could win the appeal it was Sally.

"So anyway, Kid," Doc said. "You guys stay for a night or two and I'll see you when you get back."

"See you in a couple days," Lightning said. He hung his phone up.

"Chick starts racing again next week," Lightning sighed.

"No!" Sally cried. "How?"

"He told the disciplinary board he didn't see me," Lightning said glumly. "We have to meet with Doc when we get home so we can figure out how to win the appeal."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Sally said angrily. Her pretty face turned from a deep frown to a sly, almost satisfied grin.

"What?" Lightning asked, utterly confused.

"Oh nothing," Sally said in a sing-song voice. "I think I just found a way to frame Chick though…"

"How?" Lightning asked eagerly.

"I'll tell you in our meeting with Doc in a few days," Sally said mysteriously.

"Tell me!" Lightning said. "Please?"

Sally thought for a moment. "Nah," she said grinning. "I'm going to make you suffer."

Lightning sighed and surrendered. "Okay," he said.

Just then, Lightning's car phone rang again. He made an angry remark and said that if it was Doc again he was going to throw his phone out the window.

"Hello?" he asked into the receiver.

"Lightning, is that you?" asked an all-too-familiar voice over the phone.

"Yeah," Lightning said. "Who is this?" But Lightning already knew who it was. It was his mother who he had not spoken to in two years.

Skye McQueen was Lightning's mother. The entire McQueen family was incredibly rich and resided in Reverly Hills. All of the members were notorious for being very nonchalant and rude. Skye had not agreed with Lightning's career choice and had shunned him from the family when he ran away to race in the Piston Cup.

"It's your mother," Skye said, her nonchalant "Honey, I've been trying to get in touch with you for so long!

"Well here I am," Lightning said lamely.

"Oh, Honey! I saw your wreck! I was torn apart when I saw it on the news!"

"I'm okay, Mom," Lightning said. When Skye said she had seen the wreck, he actually thought for a split second that she watched his races, but that optimistic idea was quickly squashed when Skye mentioned the news.

"I saw the interview with your crew chief," said Mrs. McQueen. "Is it true you have to have another engine replacement?"

"Yeah," Lightning sighed. He glanced at Sally who gave him a quizzical look.

"I have to be there!" Mrs. McQueen exclaimed. "You're living in Radiator Springs on Route Sixty-Six, correct?"

"Yeah, but I won't be home until day after tomorrow," Lightning said. "Mom, you really don't have to come."

"Of course I do," Skye said. "Where are you? I called your headquarters and they gave me this number."

"I'm in Pheonix," Lightning said. "I'm staying at Take a Brake suites for a couple nights and then I'm going home."

"Are you by yourself?" Skye asked. "Because if you're by yourself and injured, you someone could hurt you more."

"Relax, Mom," Lightning said. "I'm with Sally."

"Who is Sally?" Skye asked, almost edgily.

"She's my girlfriend," Lightning said, rolling his eyes at Sally and smiling.

"How long have you been seeing her?" asked Lightning's mother.

"Uh," Lightning said, thinking back. "About six weeks."

"Well I want to meet her," Skye said. "Halli will be disappointed."

Halli Cruise had been Lightning's fiancé when he left to join the Piston Cup series, but she had dumped him after a month or so.

"Anyway, I've gotta go, Mom," Lightning said, not wanting to think about Halli. It had hurt him when she dumped him.

"Okay," Skye said. "I'll call this number in a few days. I want to see everything when I visit, where you're living, and your headquarters, everywhere!"

"Okay, bye Mom," Lightning said. He hung the phone up and sighed. "I haven't talked to her in two years."

"Why?" Sally asked, looking shocked.

"My family…they're not the easiest to get along with," Lightning said. "Take me a year ago and multiply it by ten."

"They can't be that bad," Sally said.

"My mom is a Lamborghini and my dad is a hummer," Lightning said. "I get the horsepower from him and the build like her, just heavier."

Sally nodded. "I still want to meet them," she said.

"They might not like you," Lightning said. "No offense," he said quickly when Sally raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm listening," Sally said, rather flatly.

"I was engaged to a car named Halli Cruise," Lightning said. "My family pushed me into it. I thought I loved her…but I didn't."

"When were you planning to tell me this?" Sally asked, her eyes narrowing.

"I haven't thought about it lately," Lightning said. "I forgot all about her when I met you."

"Who called it off?" Sally asked coldly.

"She did," Lightning said. "I started racing and she said she wasn't going to go through with the wedding if I raced."

"And you went ahead and raced," Sally said, talking to Lightning as if he just slapped her. "It didn't hurt you at all, did it?"

"I was depressed for months!" Lightning said. "I'd dated her for four years! It hurt. I may be cold sometimes, but I do have some emotions, you know."

"I'm sorry," Sally said. "I guess I got a little jealous over nothing…"

Lightning smiled. "There's nothing to be jealous about," he said. "I like you more than I ever liked her anyway."

Sally smiled at Lightning.

"Let's go somewhere," Lightning said, changing the subject.

"Okay," Sally said. "Where will we go?"

"I don't know," Lightning replied. "Let's just go."

Lightning drove out of the room's door, Sally right behind him. Together, they rode down the elevator, into the immaculate lobby, and out of the front door of the grand hotel.

Ten minutes later, Sally pointed out a drive-in theater. "Do you want to see a movie?" she asked.

"Sure," Lightning said. He turned into the large parking lot and saw the perfect spot. It was made for one large truck, but both Lightning and Sally could fit into it cozily.

On the way into the spot, Lightning had to turn sharply. Not thinking a thing about it, he threw his wheels to the right. He quickly regretted it when he felt a quick snap from his wheel axle and the pain flooded throughout the entire area.

Sally had heard the sound. "Are you okay?" she asked quickly.

"I think so," Lightning said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Should we go back to the hotel?" Sally asked.

"No, it's fine," Lightning said. He adjusted his wheels into a less acute angle and pulled into the parking space. "I'm just stiff."

"Okay," Sally said, backing into the space. "Just tell me if we need to leave, okay?"

"Okay," Lightning said, knowing he would not tell Sally if he needed to leave. "You worry too much."

"No," Sally said. "I don't mean to offend you by saying this or anything, but when you were in your wreck, you were knocked unconscious, so you didn't have to wait in agony for over a week. Obviously you got the worse end of the whole thing, but the whole time you were out, I was either sitting beside you, or by myself, just waiting for you to wake up. Sometimes time can be almost as bad as injury."

"I get what you mean," Lightning said. "I feel almost the same way about getting back on the track."

"I know you do," Sally said. She allowed Lightning to lean up against her.

Lightning sensed Sally knew he was leaning up against her out of pain, and he was thankful she did not ask about it.

Just then, the movie started. It was a romance starring Brad Pitstop and Daytona Fanning, two well-known thespians. The entire movie lasted two hours, and Lightning and Sally arrived back at their hotel by ten-thirty.

"I'll see you in the morning," Lightning told Sally as she rolled into her hotel room.

"Good night," Sally said.

Lightning kissed Sally and drove to his room one door down. He rolled into the room and directly to bed.

The next morning, Lightning woke up and stayed in bed. His wheel axle was throbbing rather painfully, so the lack of movement felt a bit better than being in motion. Before long, Lightning decided he needed a shower, so he pulled into the bathroom and underneath the shower head. Lightning pressed the "on" petal and water came upon him from all directions. The jets of water pounded on Lightning's underside, making him fairly uncomfortable, but he dealt with it. Eventually, the dry cycle came on and Lightning rolled out of the bathroom five minutes later. Lightning rolled into his room and saw Sally in the massage machine.

"Have you tried this thing out?" she asked enthusiastically once she turned it off.

"Yeah," Lightning said. "I have one in my trailer. It's really good…" He conveniently forgot to tell Sally he had tried the massage machine the previous day in the room and it had hurt too badly to use it.

"I know," Sally said.

"So," Lightning said, changing the subject, "what do you want to do for breakfast?"

"Let's just eat here," Sally said. "I don't want you driving around too much."

"I'm fine," Lightning said, tired of the expression.

"I can tell when your axle is bothering you," Sally said matter-of-factly. "You drive differently when it's bothering you."

Lightning gave Sally an exasperated look. "Great," he said sarcastically. "Now you'll never leave me alone."

"Doc told me to take care of you," Sally said, "and that's what I'm going to do."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.

That night, Lightning took Sally to a five-star restaurant for dinner.

"Thanks for this," Sally said.

"No problem," Lightning said. "Anything for you."

"Would you have taken Halli to a nice restaurant like this?" Sally asked.

"Sally," Lightning said in an exasperated voice, "I love you more than anything in the world. Quit asking me about Halli."

"Okay," Sally said, sounding semi-reassured.

Two hours later, Lightning and Sally went back to their hotel.

"What time should I ask Mack to pick us up in the morning?" Lightning asked Sally when she was about to turn into her hotel room.

"Probably early," Sally said. "We need to get back home so you can get a check-up from Doc and we also need to have our meeting about the appeal."

"Good idea," Lightning complemented her. "I'll see you out front of the hotel at about six then."

"Okay," Sally said. "Good night then."

"'Night," Lightning replied. He rolled to his room, opened the door, and pulled his phone out.

"Mack here," Mack said, answering his phone.

"Hey, it's Lightning," Lightning said into the phone.

"Hey, Boss!" Mack said cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"

"Sally and I are staying at Take a Brake suites. Could you possibly pick us up at about six tomorrow morning?" Lightning asked

"No problem," Mack said. "Are you feeling better?"

"No complaints," Lightning said. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Oh yeah!" Mack said. "I love traveling!"

"Good," Lightning said. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow morning bright and early."

"Okay, Boss," Mack said. "Bye."

Lightning hung his phone up. He drove into his bed, shifted his weight to where it was not all on his front axles, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Lightning and Sally loaded into Lightning's trailer and arrived back in Radiator Springs ten hours later.

"Hey," Lightning said as he approached Doc in his shed.

"Hey, Kiddo," Doc said. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Oh yeah," Lightning said.

"How are you feeling?" Doc asked. "And I want a straight answer. No telling me you feel fine."

Lightning laughed. "My front wheel axle is bothering me a lot," he said. I'm a little sore all over, but I'm guessing it's just typical."

"Pretty much," Doc said. "But let me look at your wheel axle. I noticed you were favoring it, and it shouldn't be bothering you too much."

"I turned too tightly without thinking," Lightning said.

"You may have fractured it," Doc said. "There was a weak spot that was not broken yet. Go get on the table. I'll be there in a minute."

"Great," Lightning mumbled. He drove slowly out of the shed and into the hospital. Lightning found the examining room and drove up on the table.

Several minutes later, Doc drove in. He raised the table to where he could easily look at Lightning's underside.

"Yup, there's a fracture under here."

"No!" Lightning groaned.

"Relax, I'll just splint it. It's not that bad of a fracture," Doc said.

"But I have to get up to Wheel Well!" Lightning said.

"Because my mom's coming for my engine replacement and she wants to see my headquarters," Lightning said flatly. "And because we need to have our meeting there with Sally."

"That's nice of your mom," Doc said, putting a small splint on Lightning's wheel axle. "I've never heard you talk about your folks before."

"For a reason," Lightning said darkly.

"They can't be that bad," Doc said.

"My mom's a Lamborghini who's never driven on anything but perfectly paved roads. She thinks racing is quote on quote 'barbaric' and you're more of a father to me that my dad over was," Lightning said, embarrassed. "And don't think I'm exaggerating. If anything, I'm underplaying."

"Oh," Doc said, obviously surprised. "What type of car is your dad?"

"Hummer," Lightning replied.

Doc lowered the table so Lightning could roll off. "Your mom's a Lamborghini though," he said. "Lamborghinis race."

"Not her," Lightning said. "I hadn't talked to her for two years until she called my cell when I was in the hotel."

"Because you left to race?" Doc asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, and because my racing caused my fiancé to dump me," Lightning said. "My mom was in love with her. When they come, they're just going to insult Radiator Springs! I don't want them to come!"

"I can tell," Doc said. He put a tire on Lightning's good shoulder. "But if this town can turn a hot-shot as big as you were into a respectful gentlecar, I'm sure it can change your parents too."

"My parents are a lot worse than I ever was," Lightning said glumly. "I think it's just my mom coming anyway…"

"Well we'll figure something out, Kid," Doc said. "Don't worry about it too much."

"Okay," Lightning said. He was slightly reassured. "Thanks, Doc."

"No problem, Rookie," Doc said. "Now, go get your girlfriend. I'll meet you up at Wheel Well in an hour. No going over twenty."

"It'll take a half an hour just to get there," Lightning complained.

"That's why I said in an hour," Doc said, smiling down at Lightning.

Forty-five minutes later, Lightning and Sally were on their way up to Wheel Well.

"Hang on," Lightning said, out of breath. His wheel axle was incredibly sore. Lightning was also very out-of-shape, so the climb was very hard.

Sally pulled up next to Lightning. "You okay?" she asked.

"Just tired and sore," Lightning said quietly, catching his breath.

"I'll push you if you want," Sally offered.

"I'm okay, thanks," Lightning said. He pushed onward. Each rotation of Lightning's wheel caused a new throb to rip through his underside.

Twenty minutes later, the pair reached Wheel Well. Doc was already settled in the conference room when Lightning and Sally entered the room.

"You're late," Doc said, glancing up.

"It was a hard trip up," Lightning said, still struggling to catch his breath.

Doc's expression softened. "It's fine, Kid," he said. Doc then turned to Sally. "You got any ideas on how to make Chick lose the appeal?"

"Yes," Sally said. "Actually I do."

"What's the idea, Sally?" Doc asked. "We need something good."

"Well," Sally said, "all racecars after year 1996 had black boxes installed that recorded everything that was said on the inside of the car between crew chiefs and the racecars. After year 2000, the black boxes improved to where they still recorded internally, but they also recorded with a ten foot radius externally. If Chick said anything, Lightning's black box would have picked it up and Chick's would have it recorded on his too!"

"Great idea," Doc said nodding. "I'll remove your black box when I replace your engine," he added turning to Lightning.

"Okay," Lightning agreed. "Where are black boxes?"

"It depends," Doc said. "They're usually under the engine, but they can be behind your windshield or right under your roof."

"Okay," Lightning said. His wheel axle gave a particularly bad throb and he shifted his weight uncomfortably.

Sally gave Lightning a concerned look but Lightning ignored it.

Just then, Lightning's cell phone rang. "Hello?" Lightning asked.

"Lightning?" came Skye's voice through the receiver. "It's your mother."

"Hi, Mom," said Lightning dully.

"I will be arriving in Radiator Springs in about two hours," Skye said in her nonchalant accent.

"Okay," Lightning said, cringing. "Mom, please be polite when you get here. It's not like home. The people here are nice and down to earth. They live on bare essentials."

"Okay," Skye said. "Is there going to be a place for me to stay without getting too dirty?"

"Mom, that's what I'm talking about!" Lightning exclaimed. "You belittle people! You need to stop that!"

"Lightning, I know how to handle myself," Skye said, obviously not concerned. "I will see you in a couple hours."

"Okay," Lightning said. "Bye."

But the phone line was already dead. Lightning sighed and closed his eyes.

"You okay, Rookie?" Doc asked.

"I just wish she wouldn't come," Lightning said. "She complicates everything."

"Just focus on getting better," Doc said. "She'll shape up sooner or later."

"I honestly hope so," Lightning said. "But I somehow doubt it."

"Why don't you go ahead back to town while Sally and I make a few phone calls," Doc said.

"Okay," Lightning said. He made his way out of the headquarters and onto the sloping road that led back to Radiator Springs.

Once Lightning made it back to Radiator Springs, some forty-five minutes later, Lightning drove to Flo's to get something to drink. The trip back down from Wheel Well had not been as exhausting as the trip up, but Lightning was very tired, even a bit nauseous.

"What'll you have, Lightning?" Flo asked.

"Do you have anything that'll help an upset tank, Flo?" Lightning asked hopefully.

Flo smiled sympathetically. "I sure do, Hun. It'll be right out."

"Thanks, Flo," Lightning said. He gazed down the street, dreading to see a small sports car driving up.

Just then, someone kissed his cheek. Lightning looked to see who it was and saw it was Sally.

"Hi Handsome," she said.

"Hey," Lightning said, thankful it wasn't his mother.

"The disciplinary board agreed to use your black box for evidence," Sally said.

"Good," Lightning said, cringing as a throb ripped through his underside, causing his tank to hurt worse.

"What hurts?" Sally asked.

"The usual," Lightning said. "But my wheel axle is making my stomach hurt."

"I'm sure your mom has something to do with it," Sally said.

"Probably," agreed Lightning.

Flo brought Lightning his fuel out to him. "This should settle your tank," she said.

"Thanks, Flo," Lightning said. "I appreciate it."Flo gave Lightning another sympathetic look. "No problem."

She then turned to Sally. "Do you want anything, Sally?"

"I'm fine, Flo," Sally said. "Thanks though."

"Sure," Flo said, turning around and driving back into her café.

"I really don't want me mom to come," Lightning groaned. "She's only going to be a distraction."

"Cars change, Lightning," Sally said. She kissed Lightning on the cheek. "I know you did and you're my favorite person in the world now."

"I guess," Lightning said. "I hope anyway…"

"It'll go through fine," Sally assured him. "She might like the town. It's pretty humble."

"She hates humble," Lightning said. "And I hate her."

"You can't hate her as much as you say you do," Sally said.

Lightning turned gingerly to Sally. "When I told her I decided I was going to start racing, she disowned me. She told me she never wanted to see me again and I was no son of hers."

"Wow," Sally said softly.

"Yeah," Lightning said. "But I don't really care anymore. I did at first, but not anymore. You guys are my family now."

Sally smiled, but it quickly turned to a frown. "that doesn't explain why she's coming to see you though. Do you think she changed her mind?"

"I doubt it," Lightning said. "I have an idea, but I'm not positive."

"What is it?" Sally asked.

"It's just a thought," Lightning said. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay," Sally said, giving Lightning a confused look.

Lightning knew what his mother was up to. She wanted him to get back together with Halli.

"I'm going for a drive," Lightning said abruptly.

"Do you want me to come?" Sally asked.

"I think I want to be by myself for a minute," Lightning said. He finished his fuel and kissed Sally on the cheek. Lightning pulled out of Flo's parking lot and headed towards Willy's Butte. Once Lightning got there, he simply sat in the middle of the lane and stared blankly at the track ahead of him. Lightning felt overwhelmed and distressed. He was extremely nervous about his engine replacement, which Doc had scheduled for the next day, worried about how his mother would treat his friends, angry that he had fractured his wheel axle, and depressed about not being able to race. Tears welled in Lightning's eyes and he tried to fight them but it was no use. They spilled down onto his hood. Lightning sniffed and kept staring at the track ahead of him.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.

"You okay, Rookie?" came Doc's voice.

Lightning jumped. "Ouch," he mumbled.

"Kori Turbowitz called," Doc said, ignoring Lightning's tears. "She wants to know if she could interview you a week or so after your injury."

"That's fine," Lightning said.

"Okay," Doc said. "I'll call her back."

"Thanks," Lightning said. "For everything."

"No problem, Rookie," Doc said. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Okay," Lightning said.

Ten minutes after Doc left, Lightning drove to the Cozy Cone's office and saw Sally talking to passing customers.

"Hey," Lightning said. "I'm sorry I blew you off earlier."

"No problem," Sally said. "You're stressed. It happens to the best of us."

"I guess so," Lightning said, still feeling guilty.

"Lightning?" said an unpleasant, familiar voice.

Lightning cringed. He turned around slowly to see his mother parked behind him. "Hi, Mom," Lightning said.

Skye was painted a pearly blue, almost white. She rushed up to Lightning and threw herself upon him, causing a substantial amount of pain.

"Oh, Honey!" she said in her overly-dramatic voice. "I've been so worried about you! Look who I brought to see you!"

Lightning looked around to see Halli, an Avalon painted a very light pink. Lightning's tank lurched. It was just as he expected. His mother was trying to get him to fall for Halli again.

"Hey, Lightning," she said in a sweet, girly voice, obviously trying to impress him.

"Hi, Halli," Lightning said in his best I-don't-care-about-you-anymore-so-leave-me-alone voice. He remembered Sally was parked behind him.

"Mom, Halli," Lightning said, backing up. "This is my girlfriend, Sally."

"Hello, Sally," Skye said in a cool, uncaring voice.

Halli simply glared at Sally.

"How are you?" Sally asked politely, ignoring the rude greetings. "Was your drive okay?"

"Yes," Skye replied curtly. "Lightning, I would like to speak to you in private," she added stiffly.

"Okay," Lightning said. He kissed Sally on the check. "I'll be back later," he told her.

"Okay, Sweetie," Sally said. "Have fun."

"Will do," Lightning said, knowing Sally caught his hint of sarcasm.

Once Lightning, Skye, and Halli were out of earshot, Skye and Halli spun around to face Lightning.

"What are you doing here?" Skye asked. "It's dirty and run-down!"

"I like it here," Lightning said simply. "I like the people here."

"And what do you like so much about this Sally girl?" Halli asked angrily. "I'm prettier than she is!"

"No you're not," Lightning said bluntly. "Sally's smart, funny, and has a great personality along with good looks. I couldn't ask for more."

"You're out of your mind!" Skye said shrilly, causing passersby to glance in their direction.

"Mom, I love Sally," Lightning said angrily. "No matter how hard you and Halli try, I'm not changing my mind and I never will."

"You'll see," Halli said. "We can do whatever we want."

"Try as much as you want," Lightning said simply. "I don't care."

"Oh, we will," Skye said.

"You know what," Lightning said, changing the subject. "Why don't you two go with me and I'll show you the town."

"What is there to see in this town?" Skye asked harshly.

"Well," Lightning said, ignoring his mother's rude comment, "there's a racing museum, I could show you my racing headquarters even though it takes me a while to get up there, I could show you the best place to get tires, there's a great diner, and a good place to get a paint job."

"Where do you sleep?" Skye asked. "Surely you don't sleep outside," she added fearfully.

"Of course not," Lightning said. "I sleep in Cozy Cone number one. You two will each get your own Cozy Cones too. There aren't any other places to stay."

"Are they nice?" Skye asked, an arrogant expression on her face as she eyed the huge caution cones.

"You can see the inside of mine if you want to," Lightning offered. He rolled over to his cone and pressed the petal to open it with.

Skye and Halli peered in. "Well," Skye said begrudgingly. "It's not as bad as it could be…"

"I know," Lightning said. "It's a nice place to stay."

"Where does Sally stay?" Halli asked edgily.

"In the office," Lightning said.

"Well," Halli said, changing the subject completely. "When you and Sally break up, you know where I am."

Lightning spun around angrily, not even noticing the pain it caused his wheel axles. "We're not going to," he said heatedly. "And if that's what you two came for, it's a lost cause and I suggest you leave."

"What are you talking about?" Skye asked, a falsely innocent look on her face.

"You know what I'm talking about," Lightning said angrily. "You've come to break Sally and I up and get me to quit racing while I'm injured."

"What are you talking about?" Halli echoed Skye. Lightning could tell from her face he was right. "We just came to make sure you're okay."

"Yeah," Lightning scoffed. "Because you two always lookout for the wellbeing of other people!"

"We're going to check the town out," Skye said, brushing past Lightning. "We'll be back later."

Lightning was about to say "good!" but he thought better of it. "Okay. I can't drive much, so you guys go ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

"Fine," Skye said shortly. She and Halli drove into the small town and Lightning sighed. He turned back to the Cozy Cone's office to Sally.

"Wow," Sally said once Lightning had reached her. "You were right."

"Unfortunately," Lightning said. "I used to be like them. That's pretty sad."

Sally smiled. "But you're not like them anymore. That means we can fix them too."

"Yeah," Lightning said, not completely reassured. "But I had to stay. They could choose to leave whenever they want."

"And that's a bad thing?" Sally asked. "It's a win-win situation. But I don't think they'll leave. Deep down, however deep it is, your mom loves you. You're her only son."

"No I'm not," Lightning said. "I have a brother."

"You do?" Sally asked. "Well the point is still valid. She loves you, and sooner or later, hopefully sooner, she'll come around."

"I hope you're right," Lightning said."

"Have I been wrong before?" Sally asked.

"Not so far," Lightning said, thinking back.

"Exactly," Sally said, laughing. "What are the details of your surgery tomorrow?"

"I have to talk to Doc," Lightning said. "How many open Cozy Cones are there?"

"One," Sally said.

"Well, my mom can have mine and give Halli the extra one," Lightning said.

"Where will you stay?" Sally asked.

"Doc will probably want me to stay in the hospital tonight," Lightning said.

"Okay," Sally said. "Go ahead and see Doc. I'm sure he's expecting you."

Lightning nodded and left the office. He drove at his customary sluggish pace to Doc's office, where he found Doc working on a large engine.

"Is that mine?" Lightning asked.

"Yup," Doc said. "Best engine I could find."

"Thanks," Lightning said. "So what's happening with my surgery tomorrow?"

"You need to stay here tonight," Doc said. "I need to start your medication and everything else to prep you."

"Okay," Lightning said. "How long will I be out after the surgery?"

"You'll be unconscious for about a day," Doc said. "It takes a while for the anesthesia to stop working."

Lightning nodded. "Will it hurt?" he asked quietly.

"Not too bad," Doc said. "It's not going to be as painful as your titanium replacement was."

"I would hope not," Lightning said. Out of all the injuries he had sustained, Lightning thought the titanium replacement had been the worst by far.

"I saw your mom and a girl with her," Doc said conversationally.

"She's already being herself," Lightning said unhappily.

"Don't worry, Kid," Doc said. "She'll sort herself out eventually.

"Yeah, eventually," Lightning said. "Who knows how long that will take."

"Don't worry, Rookie," Doc said. "Now, don't have any more fuel for the rest of the day. The fuel I use to knock you out will make you throw everything up."

"Okay," Lightning said. "What time do I need to be back here so you can start prepping me?"

"You have an hour," Doc said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Go spend time with your mom and your sister."

"She's not my sister," Lightning quickly corrected him. He hesitated before saying, "She's my ex-fiancé."

"Oh," Doc said, obviously taken-aback. "Well, whoever they are, go spend time with them."

"Okay," Lightning said unwillingly. He rolled out of the hospital and over to his mother and Halli at Flo's café.

"You know," Skye said thoughtfully when Lightning drove up. "Even though this town is revoltingly dirty, it is rather charming."

"I know," Lightning said. "About the second part anyway. When I first got here, I thought everyone living here was crazy, but once I got to know them and the town, I loved it."

"I can see why you would choose to live here," Skye said. "Even though it could do with renovations…"

"It's a really great place to live," Lightning said passionately. "I mean, it's not big and expensive as where you guys are living, obviously, but I kind of like the small group. It suits me I guess. I get enough of the big stuff when I race."

"I've never been to a place like this before," Skye said. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be when I first got here, but it is a bit dirty for my liking."

"You get used to it," Lightning said. "My practice track here is dirt."

For the next hour, Skye McQueen became slightly more humbled. Halli stayed her egocentric self.

After discussing how the family was, Lightning's relationship with Sally, and Lightning's racing career, the topic of his wreck came up.

"So how are you healing up?" Skye asked. "When I saw your wreck on television, I nearly died."

Lightning smiled. "I'm healing up okay. My front wheel axle keeps fracturing and I have a lot of splints down there. Obviously I have to get an engine replacement, so that'll take time to heal, and my head's still bothering me a little, but nothing compared to what it was like a three weeks ago."

"And you're just going to keep racing, no matter what?" Skye asked.

"Well, yeah," Lightning said. "It's what I do."

"You must really like it," Skye said.

"I do," Lightning said. "I really miss it too."

"You'll be back in no time," Skye said encouragingly.

"Lightning smiled. "Thanks, Mom," he said. "But why didn't you race in the Grand Prix Circuit?"

"I was afraid I'd get hurt," Skye sighed. "In Grand Prix racing, there are a lot of sharp turns, and cars flip all the time. It's very unpredictable."

"Oh," Lightning said. "Is that why you didn't want me racing?"

"Partly, yes," Skye said. "Another part was jealousy. I'd wanted to race, but I had been too scared, and then there you were. You were bold and ready to get on the track without a second thought."

"I'm sorry," Lightning said.

"There's no need to be," Skye said. "It was my problem and I made it yours."

"Oh," Lightning said, not sure what to say.

Just then, Doc drove up.

"Mom, Halli," Lightning said, "this is Doc, my crew chief and doctor."

"It's nice to meet you," Skye said sociably. "Lightning's told us all about you."

"Likewise," Doc said. "It's good to meet you too." He then turned to Lightning. "You ready, Rookie?"

"Yeah," Lightning said. "I'll see you guys when I wake up."

"Good luck, Honey," Skye said.

"Nice to meet you," Doc said, turning around. He drove slightly ahead of Lightning towards the hospital.

"Could I go see Sally really quick?" Lightning asked.

"Go ahead, Rookie," Doc said. "But don't be more than twenty minutes."

"Okay," Lightning said. He turned around and drove to the Cozy Cone, speeding slightly.

"Hey," Sally said, looking up from paperwork.

"Hi," Lightning said. "I have to stay in the hospital tonight. I have to go now actually. Will you be there when I wake up?" His tank was churning from hunger and anxiety.

"You know I will be," Sally said, rolling up to Lightning. "I'll be by your side the minute Doc leaves the operating room. I won't stop worrying about you."

"I'll be fine," Lightning said, hugging Sally.

"How are your mom and ex treating you?" Sally asked.

"My mom has already started changing," Lightning said happily. "Halli is staying the same pretty much though."

"She may stay the same," Sally said.

"I suppose she'll stay the same," Lightning said. "But to tell you the truth, I don't care."

Sally laughed. "Good," she said. "I'll drive you down to the hospital if you want me to."

"Okay," Lightning said.

Together, Lightning and Sally made their way down to Doc's hospital. At the door, Lightning and Sally had to say goodbye.

"I love you," Lightning said softly.

"I love you too," Sally murmured.

Then, Lightning kissed Sally, not caring if half the town was watching them.

"I'll see you when I get up," he said. He hugged Sally, not ever wanting to let go.

"Okay," Sally said. She kissed Lightning's cheek and drove away.

Lightning drove into Doc's hospital.

"You ready, Rookie?" Doc asked. "Because I think you may have forgotten the tenth kiss out there you know."

"Ha ha," Lightning said dully.

"Sorry," Doc said, still grinning. His face then turned serious. "Are you ready?"

"As much as I'm going to be," Lightning said nervously.

"Don't be scared, Kid," Doc said. "You'll do great, I promise."

"Okay," Lightning said. He rolled onto the table so Doc could start prepping him.

Doc started doing various things to Lightning. He first checked Lightning's wheel axle, and then started putting various fuels into Lightning's tank.

"You're going to start feeling drowsy," Doc said. "Don't try to fight it."

"Okay," Lightning said. He felt slightly tired, but then the fatigue got gradually more intense. Before long, Lightning fell into a deep slumber.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.

"Lightning? Can you hear me?"

Lightning's eyes slowly flickered open. He saw the fuzzy outline of Sally in front of him.

"Hey," she said gently. "How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad," Lightning said groggily. This was true. His hood was a bit sore, but other than that, Lightning felt okay. A little light-headed, but okay.

"How long have I been out?" Lightning asked, still in a very groggy tone. He was very disoriented.

"Just a day," Sally said. "It's three o'clock in the morning. I got night duty."

"Lucky you," Lightning said.

"I volunteered," Sally said. "I promised I'd be here when you woke up, remember?"

"Yeah," Lightning said. "But you didn't have to stay up until three in the morning for me."

"Of course I did," Sally said. "I made a promise."

"Okay," Lightning said. "It's your choice, but aren't you tired?"

"A little," Sally said. "I've been dozing."

"Come here," Lightning said. "We can both sleep. "I'm exhausted too." This was true. Lightning did not understand why he was so tired, seeming that he had just slept for over a day, but he was.

Sally backed in beside Lightning and parked. Lightning allowed Sally to lean against him.

"This doesn't hurt, does it?" Sally asked sleepily.

"Not at all," Lightning said. His whole hood and front half of him ached, but Sally did not add to it. Within minutes, both cars were fast asleep.

"Hey, Kids."

Both Lightning and Sally jumped. Doc was parked in front of them.

"How do you feel, Rookie?" Doc asked.

"My hood is sore," Lightning said, still incredibly tired. "But I feel okay though."

"Good," Doc said. "Your surgery went well, but when I took your old engine out, you were deprived of oil flow for three minutes, so if may have affected your memory. I'll have to test you."

"Okay," Lightning said. "Go ahead."

"What's your name?" Doc asked.

"Lightning McQueen."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

"Who won the Piston Cup last year?" Doc asked.

"Chick Hicks," Lightning said. "But I was going to win it until I had to help the King," he added defensively.

Doc laughed. "I think you're okay," he said. "But I still have to ask two more questions. When is your birthday?"

"January fourth."

"And who are your three favorite people?"

"Sally, Mater, and you," Lightning said. "I forgot your name. What is it again?"

"Ha ha," Doc said dryly. "Now, you can't drive for two weeks.

"What!" Lightning asked, horrified.

"Relax, Kid," Doc said. "It'll be fine."

"I can't move from this spot for two weeks?" Lightning asked. "How am I supposed to get back in shape?"

"Lightning, relax," Sally said. "You still have five months before your first race!"

"Okay," Lightning sighed. "Is my mom still here?"

"Yeah," Sally said. "We had a nice conversation when we were watching you."

"Really?" Lightning asked. "Halli must have been thrilled."

"Yeah," Sally said, hesitating before saying, " She left yesterday."

"Really?" Lightning asked, his spirits raising slightly.

"Yeah," Doc said. "She didn't go quietly either."

"She kind of shrieked that she never wanted to be associated with a McQueen again," Sally said. "Halli called you and your mom a hood-stabbing worthless car."

"Oh well," Lightning said lightly. "Who needs her anyway?"

"Exactly," Doc said. "Now, Mater's been begging to see you. I don't think he can wait any longer. Can he come in?"

"Sure," Lightning said. "He can come in."

The doors to the room burst open. Mater was in the room faster than anyone could say "Piston Cup."

"Hey, Bud!" he exclaimed. "I didn't think you'd never wake up!"

"Well, I'm awake, Mater," Lightning said.

"Let's go tractor tippin'!" Mater exclaimed.

"I can't move for two weeks, Mater," Lightning sighed.

"Well why not?" Mater asked. "That isn't no fun!"

"Sorry," Lightning said. "I'd love to, but I can't."

"That's okay, Bud," Mater said, looking thoroughly disappointed. "When you get yurself better, we'll go."

"You bet we will, Mater," Lightning said.

"Well, it's a plan, Stan!" Mater said happily. "Now I gotta go and practice my towin'! I'll see ya later if the ghost light don't get cha!"

"Bye, Mater," Lightning said.

"You've gone tractor tipping with Mater?" Doc asked, giving Lightning a sideways glance.

"Long story," Lightning said.

"Okay," Doc said. He was obviously surprised.

"It was a year ago or so," Lightning said.

"I don't need the details, Kiddo," Doc said.

Lightning laughed, but it sent a spasm of pain through his hood. "Ouch," he mumbled.

"You okay?" Sally asked.

"Yeah," Lightning said, smiling weakly. "Just a little tired."

"You'll be fatigued for a while," Doc said. "The engine has to work extra hard for two weeks to get acclimated, but after that, you'll be fine."

"Okay," Lightning said. He then remembered the court case against Chick. "Did you get my black box?"

"Yeah," Doc said. It was right under your engine.

"Great," Lightning said. "Did you listen to it?"

Doc smiled. He rolled over to is table and got a small black box from it. He put the box in an appliance and turned it on. Doc fast forwarded through most of it, but stopped it close to the end.

"Kid, don't do it!" came Doc's voice, a little fuzzy.

"I don't listen to your advice anymore," Lightning voice said angrily. The sound of an accelerating engine was heard.

"No you don't, McQueen!" This race belongs to me, Chick Hicks!" came the voice of none other than Chick Hicks. "Take this!" There was then a sound of metal grinding against a concrete wall.

Doc stopped the box and smiled. "We got him, Rookie."

Lightning smiled. "When is court?"

"Two and a half weeks," Doc said. "We had to schedule it around your surgery."

"Okay," Lightning said. "When is my interview with Kori Turbowitz?"

"In two days," Doc said.

"Wow," Lightning said. "That was fast."

"She wanted it pretty close after your surgery, but I didn't know how it would go. Because it went well, I scheduled it sooner."

"Okay," Lightning said. "That sounds good."

"Good," Doc said. "I have to go give Sheriff a tune-up. I'll be back later."

"Okay," Lightning said.

Once Doc left, Sally snuggled up close to Lightning. "I know you miss racing," she said. "But when you get back to training, it'll make you that much more determined."

"I hope so," Lightning said. He kissed Sally on the cheek and yawned. "It'd be nice anyway."

"I know you," Sally said. "You're the most stubborn individual I have ever met, and when you set your mind to doing something, there is no stopping you."

Lightning grinned. "Thanks I guess," she said.

Sally smiled back at Lightning. "It was meant to be a compliment, but it came out a little wrong."

"Okay," Lightning said. "I got cha."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Sally drove over to open it. Skye was waiting outside the door.

"Hey, Mom," Lightning said.

"Hi, Sweetie," Skye said. Her voice had a certain note in it that Lightning did not recognize. It showed concern, as thought she was going to cry from her worry. "How are you feeling?"

"Great," Lightning said. "The surgery went well and I can start training again in two weeks."

"Good," Lightning's mother said. "I was so worried."

"Mom, I'm fine," Lightning said. "Really."

"Okay," Skye said shakily. A tear slid down her pearly blue hood.

"Mom, don't start crying on me," Lightning said. "I'm getting better, not worse."

Skye nodded weakly."Well," she said. "I'm helping Luigi and Guido redecorate their shop. I'll come see you later. Get some rest."

"Okay," Lightning said sleepily. He watched his mother drive from the room and out the door.

"I have to go back to the hotel," Sally said. "But I'll come back later too."

"Okay," Lightning said. He kissed Sally on the cheek and watched her leave. Once he was alone, Lightning realized how tired he was. Before long, Lightning had drifted into a very deep sleep.

"Wake up, Rookie!"

Lightning jumped awake. He saw Doc in front of him, staring him in the eyes.

"Your interview's in an hour," Doc informed him. The camera crew will be here any minute now, so you need to be awake."

"My interview isn't for another day," Lightning said groggily.

"You slept for over a day," Doc said.

"Are you serious?" Lightning asked.

"It's normal," Doc said. "Now when you're in your interview, don't mention the black box, okay?"

"Okay," Lightning replied.

Just then, there was a knock at the door to the hospital room. Doc opened it and several suburbans drove in. They were equipped with cameras.

"Hey," said one of the suburbans to Doc. "We need to set up around McQueen, right?"

"Yup," Doc said gruffly.

An hour later, the interview began.

"I'm Kori Turbowitz with the Racing Sports Network," Kori said, facing the camera. "Today I'm live from Radiator Springs with Lightning McQueen, the racing sensation that has been sidelined for about six weeks now and will be out for the rest of the season. "Lightning, how are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, Kori, thanks," Lightning said, smiling warmly.

"Good," Kori said. "Now, Lightning, do you remember anything from the actual accident?"

"Only a couple things," Lightning said. "I remember passing Chick on the outside and my tire blowing out. After that, it's pretty hazy, except for getting hit a few times.

Kori nodded sympathetically. "How long did it take you to regain consciousness after the wreck?"

"Well, supposedly I woke up on the scene," Lightning said. "But I don't remember it. I gained full consciousness about a week afterward, but even then it was pretty touch-and-go."

"Wow," Kori said, shaking her head for a dramatic effect. "What injuries did you sustain?"

"Uh," Lightning said. "I crushed my engine, I crushed the right half of my front wheel axle, I broke my windows and my windshield, I got a severe concussion, I broke a bunch of pipes, and I had to get an aluminum replacement from all the dents."

"And you survived that," Kori said. "That's incredible."

"Yeah," Lightning said. He then gave a small grin. "I wasn't ready to give up without a Piston Cup first."

Kori laughed. "Determined, aren't we," she said. "What is the most troublesome injury you sustained?"

"Wow," Lightning said. "They obviously all have their downsides. I'm not allowed to move from this spot for two weeks because of my engine replacement, and I keep fracturing my wheel axle in different places, but if I had to choose one over all of the others, it'd be all the dents because I had to get an aluminum replacement, and it was the most painful thing I could have imagined."

Kori nodded sympathetically again. "Once you're able to move again, are you going to start your training?"

"Yes," Lightning replied. "But I'm going to have to work very slowly. My wheel axle is very weak right now, and if I simply make a turn that is too sharp, it will fracture again. I'm hoping these two weeks of rest will help them heal faster."

Kori nodded. She then turned to the camera. "We'll be back live from Radiator Springs after a word from our sponsors."

The camera suburbans turned their cameras off. "Good job," Kori said.

"Thanks," Lightning said. "I'm pretty used to cameras, but you do it every day."

"Yeah," Kori agreed. "Sometimes it's great and sometimes its not."

"I can imagine," Lightning said.

Two minutes later, the interview was on air once again.

"Welcome back. I'm Kori Turbowitz here with Lightning McQueen," the reporter said facing the camera. "Lightning, what were your emotions when you heard Chick was allowed to race again?"

"I was shocked," Lightning said, beginning to feel drowsy. "Chick purposefully slammed me into the wall, and for him to simply say, 'oh, I didn't see him' just didn't cut it. Here I am, out for the season, and the car who caused it gets to go right back to doing what I should be doing, acting as if he did nothing wrong."

Kori smiled sympathetically. "Are you filing for an appeal?"

"Yes," Lightning replied. "It's already been scheduled."

"Have you gathered the evidence to prove Chick guilty?" Kori asked.

"Yes, I think so," Lightning said.

"What is the evidence?" Kori asked eagerly.

"I can't say," Lightning said. "But I'll tell you it's good and solid."

"Okay," Kori said, smiling. I'll take your word on it."

Forty-five minutes later, the interview was over. Kori and her camera crew left, and Lightning was alone with Doc in his hospital room.

"Good interview, Kiddo," Doc said. "How are you feeling?"

"Really tired," Lightning said groggily.

"Get some rest," Doc said. "You'll be less tired in a couple days."

"Okay," Lightning agreed. He closed his eyes and within minutes he was fast asleep.

Lightning woke up the next morning and saw Doc mixing fuel.

"What are you doing?" Lightning asked.

"Making sleep fuel for you," Doc said. "I'm gonna knock you out for two weeks."

"Umm, why?" Lightning asked.

"You're going to be feeling much more awake now," Doc said. "You'll get bored and try to start moving around."

"Okay," Lightning said. "But could I at least see Sally first?"

"I figured you would ask that," Doc said. She's waiting outside. "Come on in, Sally," he called.

"Hey," Lightning said happily as he saw Sally enter the room.

"Hey yourself," Sally said. "I'm going to miss you."

"It's just two weeks," Lightning said.

"That's a long time," Sally said.

"It'll fly by," Lightning said. "I promise."

"I hope so," Sally said. "I saw your interview."

"Did I look okay?" Lightning asked jokingly.

"As always," Sally said. She pulled up closer to Lightning and kissed him. "But I have to get back to the motel."

"Don't go," Lightning said, slightly distressed.

"Do you want me to stay here the whole two weeks?" Sally joked.

"That'd be nice, yeah," Lightning said, laughing slightly.

"I'll spend a lot of time here," Sally said. "But I have to go now. We're getting four new cozy cones delivered today."

"Oh, cool," Lightning said. "I guess I'll talk to you later then."

"Bye," Sally said. "I love you."

"I love you too," Lightning said, watching Sally leave the room.

After Sally left the room, Doc rolled back in.

"You ready, Kid?" Doc asked.

"Is my mom still here?" Lightning asked.

"She had to go back to Reverly Hills," Doc said. "She'll be back in a month or so though. Something big came up or something."

"Okay," Lightning said. He had wanted to talk to his mother before she left, but if she would be back, it was okay.

"You ready now, Kid?" Doc asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Lightning said.

Doc poured the liquid he had been mixing into Lightning's tank. "You'll start feeling the effects almost immediately," he said.

"Okay," Lightning said. He then felt a wave of fatigue crash down upon him.

"See ya in two weeks, Rookie," Doc said before Lightning drifted into a dark nothingness.

Two weeks later, Lightning slowly opened his eyes. Sunlight was pouring through the windows around him, causing him to blink several times. In front of him, there was a not scrawled out. It read:

Hey Rookie-

When you wake up, you can go outside. Your wheel axles look great. Find me. –Doc

Lightning grinned and started his new engine, which purred to life, and started rolling forward. His wheel axle was stiff, but Lightning ignored it. Lightning cruised smoothly over to Flo's, where he saw Doc.

"Hey," Lightning said happily.

"Hey, Rookie," Doc said. "How are you feeling?"

"Great," Lightning said enthusiastically. "When can I start training?"

"Maybe a little later" Doc said. "Just keep it slow for now."

"Oh come on, Doc!" Lightning exclaimed. "I haven't gone over thirty miles an hour in months! I need to train!"

"Later on, Rookie," Doc said. "Now go find your girlfriend. She's been lonely."

"Okay," Lightning said eagerly. He revved his engine and sped down the street to the Cozy Cone's office. On his way, Lightning noticed the four new cozy cones. They looked nice.

"Hey," Lightning said happily, cruising into the office.

"Hey!" Sally exclaimed. She quickly drove around her desk and threw herself upon Lightning.

"Wow," Lightning laughed, giving Sally a huge kiss. "I take it you missed me!"

"Mhmm," Sally crooned happily. "You have no idea."

Lightning and Sally's hug seemed to last forever. Finally the cars broke apart.

"C'mon," Lightning said. "Let's go for a drive."

"Are you up to it?" Sally asked.

"Am I up to it?" Lightning scoffed playfully. "Is that the type of question you ask Lightning McQueen?"

"I guess not," Sally said, laughing.

"Well come on then," Lightning said.

Together, Lightning and Sally made their way down Radiator Spring's main road. They were turning onto Route Sixty-Six when Doc stopped them.

"Where are you two off to?" he asked.

"Just a drive," Lightning said.

"Not if you want to train this afternoon," Doc said sternly. "You're still not one hundred percent yet."

"I know, I know," Lightning said. He turned to Sally. "I'm sorry, Sally," he said.

"No problem," Sally said. "I know you need to start your training again."

"Thanks," said Lightning, grinning widely.

"Now," Doc said, butting in. "We need to have a meeting on the trial too."

"Oh yeah," Lightning said. "We do."

"Well which do you want to do first?" Sally asked. "The appeal meeting or training?"

"The meeting," Doc said. When he saw Lightning's annoyed look, he said: "sorry, Kid. We probably need to start your training in the morning if you're going to be driving all the way up to Wheel Well today."

"He's right, Lightning," Sally said. "You don't need to re-injure yourself before you can start training again."

"I guess," Lightning said begrudgingly. "If you say so…"

"Good," Doc said. "Now I'll meet you two up there in thirty minutes. You probably need gas, Kiddo."

"Okay," Lightning said. He turned around and went to Flo's, where he filled his tank.

"Let's race up to Wheel Well," he said to Sally, pulling out of the café's parking lot.

"No going over eighty," Sally said.

"A hundred," Lightning countered. "Come on, Sally, I haven't gone over thirty in months!"

"Exactly," Sally said. "You need to work up slowly."

"Ninety?" Lightning asked hopefully.

"Maybe," Sally said. She grinned over to Lightning and shot away, down the stretch of road that lead to Wheel Well.

"No you don't!" Lightning exclaimed. He revved his engine and tore after Sally. The wind raced Lightning as gained ground on Sally, going well over ninety.

Sally laughed when she saw Lightning pull up beside her. "You still have it!" she exclaimed.

"Well I could have told you that much!" Lightning said, shifting gears and passing Sally.

Five minutes later, Lightning arrived at Wheel Well. Sally was there several minutes later. The last couple miles for Lightning had been torture. His endurance had suffered greatly from his months of being stationary.

"You went way over ninety," Sally said, scolding Lightning.

"Did you actually think I was going to go less than one hundred?" Lightning asked.

"No," Sally admitted. "But you have to promise me something. "You won't be stupid. Take your time, Lightning."

"I will," Lightning said, still trying to catch his breath. "But you have to admit that was pretty awesome!"

"It was," Sally said reluctantly. "Did it feel good?"

"You have no idea," Lightning sighed. "It was amazing, Sally."

Together, Lightning and Sally drove into Wheel Well.

"Hi, Mr. McQueen," said Carli, the receptionist. "How are you feeling?"

"Great, thanks," Lightning said, grinning at the slightly younger car.

"Good," Carli said. "How are you, Ms. Carrera?"

"I'm good too," Sally said. "How are you doing, Carli?"

"Good, thanks," Carli said.

"Did Doc call up here?" Lightning asked.

"Yes," Carli said. "He said to wait for him in the conference room."

"Thanks," Lightning said.

"No problem," Carli said smiling.

Lightning drove down the long hallway to the conference room.

Fifteen minutes later, Doc drove into the conference room.

"Hey," Lightning said.

"Hey," Doc replied gruffly. "You made it here fast."

"Eh," Lightning said, shrugging uncomfortably.

"No going over seventy," Doc said sternly. "Your wheel axle will snap and you'll be sidelined for another three months."

"Okay," Lightning said, not making eye contact. "But how will I train?"

"There are other ways to train," Doc said. "Now we need to go over what you're going to tell the disciplinary committee."

"Okay," Lightning said. "Won't they get enough information from the black box though?"

"Probably," Doc said. "But they'll need you to state what happened so it'll line up with the box."

"But I don't remember anything," Lightning. "I don't remember anything between Sally breaking up with me and waking up."

"Then say that," Sally said. "You'll seem like the hero and the jury will love you."

"She's right, Kid," Doc said. "I'm a witness. I also have the intercom tape of me talking to Lightning before Chick slammed into him."

"Okay," Sally said. "But that may hurt us more than help us. Lightning was being hot-headed and that caused him to try a risky move."

"True," Doc said. "But Chick could have just blocked him. He didn't have to slam into him anymore. Plus, Chick would have heard Lightning telling me he didn't listen to my advice anymore. He would have known Lightning was there."

"Good point," Sally said.

"Is Chick going to be there?" Lightning asked.

"He has to be," Doc said. "If he's proven guilty, he'll be sentenced then and there."

"Okay," Lightning said.

"The Racing Sports Network is also providing us with a video of the wreck," Doc said.

"Then we have this thing in the bag," Lightning said.

"Not necessarily," Doc said. "Chick has the equal rights to defend himself."

"How will he though?" Lightning asked. "We have all the primary sources of evidence!"

"Who knows," Sally said darkly. "This is Chick we're talking about."

"She has a good point," Doc said. "But I'll give you this: it's going to be hard to counter our evidence. He doesn't know what's coming."

"Good," Lightning said. He had the competitive edge in his voice that he had not used in months. Doc and Sally smiled at him slightly when they heard it. "I hope he likes surprises."

"It's likely we'll win," Sally said. "We can also go ahead and apply for a warrant to get Chick's black box too."

"Good," Lightning said. "Do you think he'll guess we're using a black box for our evidence?"

"Doubt it," Doc said. "The disciplinary committee is coming here in an hour for Lightning's black box and video tapes."

"Okay," Lightning said. "Do we need to stay here until they get here?"

"You two don't," Doc said. "I have to sign a few papers and do whatever else they want me to do saying I haven't edited the footage."

"Okay," Lightning said. "What else do we have to do here?"

"You're free to go," Doc said. "Don't say anything to anybody about this. You got that?"

"We know, Doc," Lightning said, rolling out of the door.

"And don't even think about going to Willy's Butte!" Doc called.

"Okay, Doc," Lightning sighed.

"And no going over seventy!"

"Got it, Doc," Lightning said, driving down the hall.

Once Lightning was outside, he grinned over to Sally and shot down the road, not just going over seventy, but way over one hundred.

Lightning heard Sally call a retort, but he ignored her. He was ready to race. Lightning sped through the tight turns going down the steep slope that lead to the flat stretch of land. On his last turn, Lightning floored his engine and thrust his wheel axles to the right, only to receive a spasm of pain. Lightning winced and immediately slowed down to around forty.

Sally quickly caught up with Lightning.

"What is your problem?" she raged. "Are you trying to get hurt again?"

"Sorry," Lightning said, not making eye contact.

"It's not me you need to be sorry with," Sally said angrily. "It's yourself and Doc! You are like a son to Doc, and he's worked his bumper off for you in the past months and you go and blow him off the first chance you get!"

"Sally-" Lightning said.

"-I don't want to talk to you right now," Sally said curtly. She shifted gears and tore off into the town.

Lightning sighed and drove slowly back to Radiator Springs. Once he reached the town, he went to see Mater. Mater was dragging tires across the ground.

"Hey, Mater," Lightning said glumly.

"Hey, Bud!" Mater said. "I was wonderin' when you was gonna wake up!"

"I'm awake," Lightning said. "I wish I wasn't though."

"Why?" Mater asked.

"Sally and I got in a fight," Lightning said.

"I sure am sorry, Bud," Mater said. "Maybe we can go tractor tippin' and it'll cheep ya up!"

"I can't, Mater," Lightning said. "I'm sorry, but I'm trying to stay under seventy miles per hour and I don't think that'll outrun Frank." He was referring to the leader of the tractors, a huge combine that tended to chase whoever disrupted his cows.

"Aw, that's okay, Bud," Mater said. "I just hope you get ta feeling better!"

"Thanks, Mater," Lightning said. "I've got to go find Sally now though."

"I just saw her!" Mater said. "She didn't say nuthin though. She just went and sped down the road."

"Thanks, Mater," Lightning said.

"Bye, Bud," Mater said.

Lightning drove distractedly down the street and into the Cozy Cone's office, where he found Sally.

"I'm really sorry," Lightning said. "I was really stupid to do that."

"Yeah, you were," Sally said, driving around her desk to face Lightning.

"You hate me now, don't you?" Lightning asked.

"Of course not," Sally said. "I love you. It would be easier if I hated you."

Lightning smiled weakly.

"But," Sally said. "If you don't shape up and listen to your doctor, it could change."

"I've learned my lesson, believe me," Lightning said. "You being mad at me nearly killed me."

Sally smiled. "Do this for you, not me," she said.

"Okay," Lightning said. He rolled forward and hugged his girlfriend. "I don't like fighting with you. I always lose."

Sally laughed. "You have to remember I'm an attorney."

"I won't forget it," Lightning said. "How are the new Cozy Cones working out?"

"Great," Sally said. "When your mom is here she stays in them."

"Did she tell you when she would be back?" Lightning asked.

"She was delayed in Reverly Hills," Sally replied. "She'll be back soon enough though."

"Okay, Doc told me the same thing," Lightning said. "I wonder why she got held up."

"Something about a car named Dodger or something," Sally said.

"Dodger is my brother," Lightning said. "He's always in trouble for something or another. There's no telling with him."

"Oh," Sally said. "Older or younger?"

"Older," Lightning replied. "By five years."

Sally nodded. "You're twenty, right?"

"Twenty-one," Lightning corrected her. "He's twenty-six. Dodger has issues though…"

"Like what?" Sally asked curiously. "If you don't mind me asking," she added quickly.

"Anger management mainly," Lightning said. "But he started hanging out with the wrong crowd too."

"That's too bad," Sally said.

"Yeah," Lightning agreed. "I spend most of my childhood running from him. That's probably why I'm so fast."

Sally laughed. "Where is he now?"

"I don't know exactly," Lightning said thoughtfully. "The fact that my mom is delayed because of him makes me think jail, but who knows."

"Oh," Sally said.

Just then, Doc rolled through the doorway.

"You're back early," Lightning commented.

"They showed up early," Doc said. "I'm not complaining though."

"Where is the hearing being held?" Sally asked.

"In our courthouse," Doc said. "I told the committee Lightning couldn't drive very far, and Mack was taking a well-deserved vacation."

Sally nodded. "And when is it?" she asked.

"Day after tomorrow," Doc said. "Anyway, I've got to get going. Sheriff has an appointment with me."

"Bye, Doc," Lightning and Sally said in unison.

"Bye, Kids," Doc said. He headed out of the doorway. "Oh, Rookie," he added, turning around.

"What?" Lightning asked.

"Willy's Butte, six A.M.," Doc said. "Don't be late."

"Got it," Lightning said, grinning widely.

Once Doc pulled away, Lightning turned to Sally. "It's getting late," he said. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay," Sally said. "Goodnight."

"'Night," Lightning said. He kissed Sally and headed out of the Cozy Cone's office.

Lightning drove to his cozy cone, entered it, and fell asleep within minutes.

"Rookie?"

Lightning opened his eyes. He looked outside and saw Doc. It was still dark.

Lightning rolled forward and groaned. His wheel axles were incredibly still from the day before.

"You still, Kid?" Doc asked.

"Yeah," Lightning said groggily. "What time is it?"

"Five-thirty," Doc said.

"Why did you get me up this early?" Lightning said. "I thought you said training was at six?"

"I did," Doc said. "But you need to get a checkup really quick, and then we need to discuss your new schedule."

"What's my new strategy?" Lightning asked. "What's wrong with the old one?"

"I'll get to that," Doc said. "Now come on."

"Okay," Lightning said. He accelerated to catch up with Doc, who was already moving away. A spasm of pain shot through his axle. Lightning groaned and winced.

"What's wrong?" Doc asked, turning around.

"Nothing," Lightning replied quickly. He continued on, but another spasm of pain shot through his right front axle.

"Is it your axle?" Doc asked.

"Yeah," Lightning said. "But I think it's because I drove around a lot yesterday."

"Probably," Doc said. "But I want to check it out anyway."

"Okay," Lightning agreed. He gingerly followed Doc to his hospital, wincing whenever a spasm of pain shot through his axle.

"It looks okay," Doc said ten minutes later. "I have some new stuff that'll strengthen while it heals."

"Okay," Lightning said, almost eagerly.

Doc got a container from the shelf and went back under the table Lightning was on to apply it. When the substance touched Lightning's wheel axle, it seemed to freeze it. Lightning shuddered.

Doc laughed. "Cold?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lightning replied. "So what's my new training schedule?"

"Well," Doc said. "You have a better motor now, so once you're back into top form we'll increase the intensity of it.""Good," Lightning said.

"But the thing is you have to take it easy on yourself. I know you're hot-headed. This is going to take time. I almost didn't get you the top-of-the-line motor because of your mentality, but I decided to try and trust you. Do you promise to keep a cool head?" Doc asked, surveying Lightning with a shrewd look.

"Doc, I'll listen to your orders, believe me," Lightning said. He thought uncomfortably about his fight with Sally the day before.

"Good," Doc said. "Just remember, it's not me you're hurting if and when you act stupid. It's you."

"Okay," Lightning replied. He wondered if Sally had talked to Doc last night. She had said those exact words yesterday.

"Okay," Lightning said. "But what will I do at first when I can't go over seventy?"

"Today and for the next month we're working on your endurance," Doc replied. "You're going to go around Willy's Butte as many times as you can at seventy and we'll increase the speed very gradually."

"I'll be there all day!" Lightning exclaimed.

"You'll be surprised, Kiddo," Doc said. "The first few days are going to be really rough."

Fifteen minutes later, Lightning and Doc arrived at Willy's Butte.

"Stretch out first," Doc said.

Lightning stretched all of his tires and axles, saving his front right one for last. He stretched it gingerly, exhaling loudly when it hurt.

"That's good," Doc said. "We'll get that axle to get more flexible with time. Now, go ahead and take the track once at fifty for your warm up. You won't need to power slide the one turn today. You're not going fast enough."

"Okay," Lightning replied. He went out on the track and went around it once at fifty.

"Good," Doc called. "Now take it up to seventy."

Lightning nodded and accelerated.

Thirty laps later, Lightning had to stop. His wheel axles were burning, his hood was aching profusely, and he could not breathe.

"You okay, Rookie," Doc asked, looking mildly alarmed.

"I…can't…breathe," Lightning said, struggling to get the words out.

"You pushed yourself too hard," Doc said. "Come on; let's take a slow lap around the track."

Lightning nodded and drove slowly around the track with Doc.

"Hopefully, you'll gain more endurance quickly," Doc said. "My bet is you'll be up to seventy laps in five or six days."

Lightning gave Doc a look that said he did not believe him.

"Once you start gaining your stamina you'll get a lot fast," Doc said.

"I…hope so," Lightning said, still taking deep breaths.

Doc smiled encouragingly at Lightning. "You'll get there, Kiddo. You'll get there."

"Thanks…Doc," Lightning said.

Thirty minutes later, Lightning drove to the Cozy Cone's office. He found Sally fast asleep. Exhausted himself, Lightning parked next to Sally and fell asleep.

"Lightning!"

Lightning jumped awake.

"You were supposed to be at Willy's Butte at six!" Sally exclaimed.

"Been there, done that," Lightning said groggily. "Doc actually took it upon himself to wake me up at five-thirty this morning."

"Ouch," Sally said. "How'd it go?"

"Not well," Lightning said glumly. "I've never been so weak, Sally. I had to stop at thirty laps, and that was just at seventy."

"You'll get it back," Sally said. She leaned against Lightning comfortingly.

"I don't know," Lightning said. "I nearly had an engine-attack out there."

"Your hood hurt?" Sally asked, obviously concerned. "That doesn't sound good."

"It didn't feel good either," Lightning said.

"How was your axle?" Sally asked.

"Pretty bad," Lightning said lowly.

"As bad as when you first woke up?" Sally asked.

"About the same," Lightning admitted. "I thought getting back into training would be great."

"You can do this, Lightning," Sally said. "I know you can. And I'll be with you every step of the way."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.

"Come on, Rookie," Doc said quietly the next morning at five-thirty.

Lightning groaned. He rolled out of his cozy cone and out beside Doc.

"Sally wanted to come to my training session this morning," Lightning said groggily. "I'll go get her."

"Okay," Doc said. "Go ahead."

Lightning drove into the Cozy Cone's office and gently shook Sally awake.

"Do you still want to come to my training session?" Lightning asked.

"Of course," Sally said, grogginess in her voice.

"It's nothing to watch," Lightning said.

"Yes it is," Sally said.

"Okay," Lightning said, stifling a yawn. "But be well rested for court so we can kick Chick's butt."

"Okay," Sally said, chuckling. "I will be."

An hour later, Lightning was going around Willy's Butte at seventy miles per hour. He made it around fifty-nine times.

"Good job, Kiddo!" Doc said, obviously satisfied.

"Thanks," Lightning said, exhausted. He was in a fair amount of pain, but he tried to hide it.

"What hurts, Kid?" Doc asked, glancing over at Lightning.

"Nothing," Lightning lied. He hit a small bump and winced.

"Yeah, you look like your perfectly fine," Doc said sarcastically.

Lightning sighed. "The usual. My wheel axle is the worst. My hood and head are a little sore. It's a lot better than yesterday though."

Doc nodded. "You made good progress today. I think you need to go get some rest from the motel before court though."

"Okay," Lightning said. "I'm exhausted."

"Go ahead," Doc said. He glanced at Sally. "Both of you. I'll wake you two up in a couple hours so we can go through last minute details."

"Okay," Sally said, following Lightning. Together they drove back to the Cozy Cone.

When they got there, Lightning drove to his cozy cone, only to be awoken by Doc and Sally a couple hours later.

Lightning followed Doc and Sally silently to Doc's office.

"Chick's going to be here in thirty minutes," Doc said. "We need to go over what's going to happen one last time."

"Okay," Lightning said, groaning slightly as his wheel axle shot a spasm of pain through his entire underside.

Both Doc and Sally gave Lightning a concerned look.

"I'm fine," Lightning said, shifting his weight. "Go ahead."

Doc nodded. "Do you remember anything else from the wreck you that you didn't before?"

"No," Lightning said after thinking for a moment. "I can vaguely remember Chick saying something before he hit me, but it could be my subconscious after hearing the box."

"Okay," Doc said. "Just say what you can remember." He then turned to Sally. "I'll leave it to you to keep Chick off the track."

"Don't worry," Sally said, a competitive edge in her voice. "I can do this. Who is the judge?"

"Carlton Drake," Doc said. "He's a fair guy. He'll hear us out."

"Good," Sally said.

An hour later, the court came into session.

Sally drove onto the floor to address the judge. "Your honor," she said. "I would like to call Lightning McQueen to the stand."

"Very well," Judge Drake said.

Lightning drove onto the witness stand.

"Mr. McQueen," Sally said in a voice that was purely business, "you and Chick Hicks have had a rivalry since you first started racing, correct?"

"Yes," replied Lightning.

"Why is this?" Sally asked.

"The King was retiring last season," Lightning said. "He knew he would be able to get the Piston Cup after the King left, and then I came and added some competition."

Sally nodded. "Did Chick say anything to you before you wrecked?"

"Yes," Lightning said. "He said something along the lines of: 'Take this, McQueen, this race is mine!'"

Sally nodded. "No further questions," she said. She then turned to the jury. "We have fool-proof evidence that Chick Hicks purposefully slammed into Lightning. Play the box please, Doc."

Doc nodded. He pressed the switch on the box.

"Don't do it, Rookie!" Doc's voice rang out through the open room.

"I don't listen to your advice anymore!" Lightning's voice said angrily.

Lightning felt slightly self-conscious at his harsh words. He felt the courtroom's eyes boring through him.

Then, the box uttered the sound of a motor being floored, and Chick's voice came in.

"No you don't, McQueen, this race belongs to me, Chick Hicks!"

Doc shut the black box off just as the sound of the crash started.

The crowd in the courtroom burst into sound as the different cars from the press and Radiator Springs discussed what they had just heard.

"Order in the court!" Judge Drake called out in a powerful voice.

An hour later, the jury had reached a consensus.

"Jury, what is your verdict?" Judge Drake asked. The courtroom was silent. No one dared to utter a sound.

"We find the defendant, Chick Hicks, guilty for voluntary harm to a fellow racecar," said an older female car.

"I sentence him to suspension from any racetrack of any kind until McQueen is able to race again," Judge Drake called out, slamming his gavel on the desk in front of him.

Lightning grinned widely. He glanced over to Chick, who was glaring at him with vengeance on his face.

"We did it!" Sally exclaimed happily.

"You did it!" Lightning said, giving Sally a huge kiss, not caring that there were cameras recording his every move. "Doc and I wouldn't have thought about the black box!"

Lightning felt as though a weight had been lifted from his hood. Chick was not going to get the Piston Cup.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.

"Good, Kid," Doc said six weeks later.

"Thanks," Lightning said, catching his breath. "What was my time?"

"Twenty-six seconds," Doc said. "You're getting a lot better."

"Yeah," grinned Lightning. "Could I try one more time?"

"You're going to re-break your axle," Doc said frowning.

"No I won't," Lightning retorted. "Come on, it won't kill me!"

"Fine," Doc said, giving in. "Go line up on the track."

Lightning turned around and stopped on Willy's Butte.

"Go!" Doc yelled.

Lightning floored his engine. He shot off towards the sloped turn. Lightning grinned as he gained speed, shooting around the turn and going down the long side. He power slid around the non-banked turn and sped across the finish line.

"Seventeen seconds, Kiddo," Doc said, obviously thrilled.

"Awesome!" Lightning exclaimed. "That's my best yet!"

"Uh huh," Doc said. "You're done for today. Go get some electrolyte fuel from Flo's."

"Okay," Lightning said happily. He turned and drove up onto the road and down to Flo's diner. Lightning ordered his food and waited patiently for it.

While waiting for his fuel, Lightning's car phone started ringing.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hey, Hon," came Skye's voice through the receiver.

"Mom!" Lightning said. "It's been a while!"

"I know, Honey, I'm so sorry," Skye said. "But Dodger really did it this time, and I had to tend to some of his needs."

"What did he do?" Lightning asked, not sure if he really wanted to know.

"He robbed an auto parts store," Skye sighed.

"Is he in jail?" Lightning asked.

"Yes," Skye said. "And he will be for a while too so I'll be able to get back to Radiator Springs."

"That's great!" Lightning said. "We all miss you."

"I miss you guys too," Skye said. "How is your training going?"

"Really good," Lightning said. "I mean, a little slow for my liking, but you know me."

"Yeah," Skye laughed.

Flo brought Lightning's fuel out. He thanked her and kept talking to his mother.

"So when do you think you'll get back here?" Lightning asked.

"Within a week or so," Skye said.

"Great!" Lightning said happily.

"Yes, I know," Skye said. "But I have to go, Hon. What do you think of me bringing your dad this time?"

"Sounds good," Lightning said. He and his father had never had an incredibly close relationship, but then again he hadn't had a good relationship with his mother until a couple months previously.

"Okay then, bye," Skye said.

"Bye," Lightning said, closing his phone. He hung up his phone and finished his fuel. Lightning then drove down to the Cozy Cone.

"Hey," Sally said, looking up as Lightning drove in.

"Hey," Lightning said.

"How did your training go?" Sally asked.

"I sprinted around Willy's Butte in seventeen seconds," Lightning said proudly.

"That's great!" Sally said. She drove up to Lightning. "You're doing so well!"

"Yeah," Lightning agreed happily. "I'm definitely not complaining. Oh, and my mom called."

"Oh, good," Sally said. "What did she say?"

"She'll be here in a week or so," Lightning said. "And she's bringing my dad."

"Great!" Sally said.

"Yeah," Lightning said. "Anyway, I'm going to watch some racing videos at Doc's if you want to come."

"Okay," Sally said. "Just don't get depressed or anything. You always do whenever you watch racing videos."

"I'll try," Lightning said. "Come on over when you get the chance."

"Okay," Sally said.

Lightning drove down the main road to Doc's shed. He found the DVD of his wreck and plugged it into the player.

"Hey, Rookie," Doc said, coming in the door behind him.

"Hey, Doc," Lightning said absentmindedly. He was scrutinizing his wreck.

"Did you come from the Cozy Cone?" Doc asked.

"Yeah," Lightning replied, in the same absentminded tone he had used before.

"Have you thought about proposing to her?"

Lightning snapped to realization. "I-I-I've thought about it," he stammered. "I mean, we've only been going out eight months…"

"But you're pretty sure she's the one?" Doc asked nosily.

"Well, yeah," Lightning said. He avoided Doc's eyes. "I mean, I'm positive she is…but I don't know how soon…right now I'm focusing on my training…"

Doc laughed. "Relax, Kid. I didn't mean to scare you. Your mom called me to ask those questions. She didn't want to seem overbearing like she did in your last relationship, so she asked me to ask you those questions. Believe me; I'm not interested in that sort of thing."

"Oh," Lightning said. "It's just the last time I was rushed into something like that, it fell through. I just don't want to rush things like that."

'Okay, Kid," Doc said. "Sorry to scare you like that."

"No problem," Lightning said, restarting the DVD of his wreck.

"Don't keep watching that tape," Doc said. "You'll drive yourself crazy."

"I know," Lightning sighed. "But if I had just waited and taken the inside, I would have-"

"Don't live where you could have done something," Doc interrupted. "What happened happened and there's nothing we can do about it except to get back on the track and kick butt."

Lightning grinned. "That's true," he said. "I'm going to keep watching though. I need to keep watching though so I can see if I can find anything I can fix when I get on the track."

"Not being a hot-rod would fix everything," Doc said. "But I can't say I didn't do the same thing when I had my wreck. I'll see you later, Kiddo."

"Okay," Lightning said, once again in an absentminded tone. "Bye, Doc."

"Bye, Rookie."

Lightning studied his wreck for ten more minutes and then put in the video of his first race. On the screen, he saw himself acing cocky and attracting attention to himself from the media.

All of a sudden, a wave of fatigue Lightning. He fell asleep just as the race started.

"Lightning?"

Lightning opened his eyes slowly. He saw the fuzzy outline of Sally in front of him.

"Hey," he said hoarsely, giving Sally room to scoot in beside him.

"You okay?" Sally asked.

"Yeah," Lightning replied. "Just tired."

"Good," Sally said. "It's time for dinner. What do you want from Flo's?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not hungry," Lightning said.

"You sure?" Sally asked. "That doesn't sound like you.""Yeah, I'm sure," Lightning said. "I think I'm just going to go to bed."

"Okay," Sally said.

Lightning drove towards the door. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Bye," Sally said. Lightning drove down the street to his cozy cone and within minutes he was fast asleep.

Doc woke Lightning up at five-thirty the next morning.

"Why did you wake me up so early?" Lightning asked groggily.

"You need a check-up," Doc said. "Come on."

Lightning groaned and stiffly drove out of his cozy cone, stretching his wheel axles.

"Have you been sore anywhere?" Doc asked, glancing over to Lightning.

"My wheel axles are stiff when I wake up in the mornings," Lightning yawned. "But they're not sore."

"Good," Doc said. "Sally's worried about you. She said you've been sleeping a lot lately."

"I've been tired," Lightning said. "No big deal."

"You've been training hard," Doc said. "That's probably why you've been sleeping so much."

"Yeah," Lightning agreed.

"She also says you haven't had much of an appetite," Doc said.

Lightning shrugged. "I just haven't been that hungry lately."

"I need to check your engine," Doc said, entering his office. "It could be why you haven't been eating and why you've been so tired."

"I don't think so, Doc," Lightning said. "I just go through eating phases like this and I've been training hard."

"And I think that's the case," Doc said. "But I just want to know for sure."

"Okay," Lightning said. "I understand."

"Good," Doc said. "We're going to train first and then do the procedure."

"Procedure?" Lightning asked.

"I'm going to thread a wire through your engine so I can detect any glitches."

"Okay," Lightning said.

"And I'll need to check your wheel axles first," Doc said.

Lightning drove up onto Doc's table.

"They look great," Doc said. "I mean they're really scarred up, but they look close as they're going to get to one hundred percent."

"Good," Lightning said, very satisfied. "How am I supposed to be able to train on asphalt again before I race?"

"I'll arrange something,' Doc said.

"Okay," Lightning said.

"I was thinking about going to L.A. for a week with you and train on their track in a month or so," Doc said. "You're strengthening your axles by working on dirt because of all the bumps in it."

"Okay," Lightning said. "When we go to L.A., can Sally come?"

"I figured you'd ask," Doc said, smiling. "She's already coming."

"Good," Lightning said.

"C'mon," Doc said, heading out of the door. "Let's get started."

"Coming," Lightning said. He drove off of the table and pulled up beside Doc. "What am I working on today?"

"We're going to start seeing how many laps you can do at top speed," Doc said. "Don't count on being able to do more than thirty laps at first.""Okay," Lightning said.

Thirty minutes later, Lightning had finished his thirty-sixth lap and turned into his thirty-seventh. He was going well over one hundred and fifty miles per hour and power slid, only to get a searing pain from under his hood. Lightning slammed on his brakes, but the pain continued, increasing. Lightning groaned and shut his eyes. He cried out for Doc as the pain escalated.

"What is it, Kid?" Doc asked, sprinting up to him.

"My hood," Lightning groaned. "Doc, help!"

"Okay, Kid," Doc said, obviously panicking. "I'll be right back, don't fade out on me!"

"Hurry!" Lightning cried. The pain was increasing by the second.

Within a minute, Lightning made out a lavender blur streaking towards him.

"Lightning!" Sally exclaimed. "Stay with me, Stickers!"

Lightning was past being able to speak. He gazed at Sally through dazed eyes as the pain kept increasing. Smoke was beginning to come out of his hood.

"Stay we me!" Sally repeated. "Mater and Doc will be here any second."

Lightning simply gazed at Sally. Tears slid down his hood. He saw Doc and Mater speeding down the main road, and then, Lightning lost all consciousness.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.

"We're lucky he even made it. That was a grade four engine-attack," came a distant voice.

"He's a fighter. He's determined to get back on the track. How long will this postpone his training?"

"A week."

"You're going to let him get back on the track a week after an engine-attack?"

"There's no medical reason saying he can't," Doc said. "I'll tell him to take two weeks off, but I doubt he'll listen."

"He might. He was crying out there, Doc. You know he never does that."

"No, the kid's never cried in front of me either. He nearly did when you dumped him before the race though."

"And don't go telling the world that either," Lightning said groggily.

"You're awake!" Sally exclaimed. She rolled over to Lightning, Doc right behind her.

"How do you feel, Kid?" Doc asked.

"Pretty good," Lightning said. "Just weak."

"Good," Doc said, obviously satisfied. "You'll be tired because of the meds I gave you."

"Okay," Lightning said. "So I can start training in a week?"

"Yeah," Doc said. "But I think you should wait two weeks though."

"I know," Lightning said. "But we're all going to L.A. in a month for me to train! I have to train so I don't look like an idiot there!"

"I can't stop you, Kid," Doc said. "But I'm worried you'll have another engine-attack."

"I won't!" Lightning said desperately.

"You don't know that, Lightning," Sally said.

"We'll see how this week goes," Doc said. "But stay under one hundred or you will have another attack."

"Okay," Lighting agreed. "How much longer do I have to stay here?"

"Well, you only need monitoring until noon," Doc said. "But I don't want you alone at any time. So you'll probably want to sleep here so I can stay close around to make sure you're okay."

"He can stay with me," Sally said. "That way you can get some sleep too."

"If you're sure," Doc shrugged.

"How likely is it that I have another attack?" Lightning asked, a little fearful.

"It's not unheard of," Doc said. "I just want you to be careful."

"Okay," Lightning said. He then yawned. "I'm really tired," he said, stifling another one.

"So am I," Sally said.

"I'm with ya'll," Doc said. "Sally, do you want to stay with him, or do you want me to?"

"I'll stay with him," Sally said. "You looked after him all day and last night."

"How long have I been out?" Lightning asked.

"Your attack was two mornings ago," Sally said. "But we kept you out all day because we needed to make sure your engine was stable."

Once Doc was gone, Sally drove up to Lightning and faced him.

"Come here," Lightning said. "We haven't gotten any personal time in a long time."

Sally smiled and drove up to Lightning. Lightning kissed her.

"You've been training too hard lately," Sally said. "Just take it easy. I don't want you hurting yourself anymore."

"I won't," Lightning said. He scooted over to make room for Sally. Sally rolled in and leaned up against him.

"I know we've only been dating nine months or so, but when I think back I can't remember life when we weren't."

"Same here," Lightning said. "I know it isn't time yet, but what are your thoughts on getting married later on?"

"The time isn't great now," Sally agreed, "but yes, definitely sometime later on."

"Do you want kids?" Lightning asked.

"Maybe one," Sally said.

"Same here," Lightning said.

Sally yawned. "I'm really tired though. I haven't slept well in a while."

"Okay, Babe," Lightning said fondly. "Sorry I keep scaring you so bad."

"Yeah, you really need to stop that," Sally agreed. "But I love you anyway."

"Good," Lightning said. "I love you too."

"Good night," Sally said.

"See you in the morning," Lightning said.

"Are you two ever going to wake up?" Doc asked the next morning.

Lightning opened his eyes slowly. He glanced down to Sally who was still cuddled up to him.

"What time is it?" Lightning asked groggily.

"Eleven," Doc replied.

"I don't want to get up," Lightning groaned. He snuggled back up to Sally. "I'm tired."

"Suit yourselves," Doc said. He pulled away from the tired cars.

Later that day, Doc came in attempting to wake Lightning and Sally.

"Come on, get up!" he called.

Both Lightning and Sally stirred.

"What time is it now?" Lightning asked hoarsely.

"About one," Doc said. "You need to get up and start moving, Kid. I need to know how much damage was done in the attack. No problems showed up when I went in right after it happened, but the only way I'll really know is to get you up and around. Sally I want you to stick to him like glue. Tell me if you think he's hurting because he's way too stubborn to tell me himself."

Sally laughed. "Okay I will."

"Get something to eat at Flo's and go for a drive," Doc instructed. "No going over one hundred," he added sharply to Lightning.

"Got it, Doc," Lightning said, driving forward hesitantly. His wheel axles were very stiff.

Lightning drove out onto the main road, closely followed by Sally. Together, they drank their fuel and then discussed where they would go.

"Where to?" Lightning asked.

"I don't know," Sally said. "Wheel Well?"

"We always go there," Lightning said. "How about Ornament Valley?"

"That sounds good," Sally said. She turned towards Ornament Valley. "Remember, no going over one hundred," she reminded Lightning.

"I know," Lightning said, accelerating to be beside Sally. "Believe me, I learned my lesson."

"Good," Sally said.

Together, Lightning and Sally drove to Ornament Valley, neither of them going over ninety miles per hour.

Once they got there, Lightning and Sally drove slowly down the main road of the town that was equally as small and isolated as Radiator Springs. Some tourists greeted Lightning. He signed several cars' aluminum. Then, one of his fans told him something that shocked him.

"Are you here to see Hicks?" asked a blue minivan.

"What?" Lightning asked. "Is he here?"

"Yeah," the minivan said.

"Thanks," Lightning said, pulling away with Sally right behind him.

"Don't do anything stupid," Sally warned him.

"Hang on," Lightning murmured. He squinted into the desert and saw a green car.

"Are you stalking me now?" he called to Chick Hicks.

"No," Chick said. "Just hang out because thanks to you I don't have anything to do."

"You did that to yourself," Lightning said angrily, he and Chick circling around each other.

"If you had actually listened to your crew chief we'd both be racing," Chick said.

"If you actually followed the racing rules we would both be too," Lightning challenged. "Go back to where you came from."

"Fine," Chick said. He turned around, drove fifty feet out, spun around, and sprinted, hitting Sally right behind her front right tire.

Lightning was outraged. He took off after Chick, but once he was going one hundred and twenty miles an hour, his hood started feeling strange, as if it were vibrating. He quickly slowed and drove back to Sally and saw she had a fairly large dent in her side and her wheel was at a slightly strange angle.

"Are you okay?" Lightning asked quickly.

Sally grimaced. "I don't know."

"What hurts other than your side?" Lightning asked.

"Nothing really," Sally said. "My head hurts a little, but not too bad. It's been hurting for days though so I don't think it's related."

"Well you're going to have to get Doc to fix that," Lightning said.

"Obviously," Sally said. She was trembling.

"Can you drive?" Lightning asked, beginning to panic.

"I think so," Sally said. She drove forward a couple feet and then stopped. "My wheel axle hurts."

"Uh oh," Lightning said. "Here, lean on me. We'll get back a little later than what Doc said, but we have a good excuse."

"Why don't you call him?" Sally asked, leaning heavily onto Lightning. "Maybe we can get a ride from Mack or something."

"I'll call Doc," Lightning said. "We'll be here all night if we try to drive home ourselves."

Lightning dialed Doc's number on his phone.

"What's up, Kid?" Doc asked.

"Doc, Sally's hurt!" Lightning exclaimed. "We need Mack in Ornament Valley as soon as possible!"

"Calm down, Kid!" Doc said. "I'll send Mack. Is she conscious?"

"Yeah," Lightning said, about to hyperventilate.

"Lightning, calm down!" Doc said. "Now, what happened?"

"Chick was here and we argued and he left but he turned around and rammed into Sally!" Lightning said, all in one breath and very quickly.

"Mack is on his way. Is she in a lot of pain?" Doc asked.

"A fair amount," Lightning said. "Her wheel axle is bothering her."

"Well keep it cool, Kid," Doc said. "You're not helping Sally if you're panicking more than she is."

"Okay," Lightning said, taking a deep breath. "Don't cause your engine to give out."

"Okay," Lighting said, calming down slightly.

"We'll be there soon," Doc said. "Stay calm and help Sally out."

"Okay," Lightning agreed. He hung his phone up and nuzzled Sally tenderly. "Hang in there, Babe," he said.

"I am," Sally said quietly. "How did you live with this all over you?"

"I was unconscious," Lightning reminded her. "I didn't have to go through the initial pain."

Sally leaned heavier against Lightning, keeping her weight off her front right tire.

"You're handling this better than I am," Lightning said, smiling down at Sally.

Sally smiled weakly. "You are freaking out a little," she said. "It's lucky I wasn't the one who had a huge wreck."

Lightning laughed. "It is a good thing," he agreed.

Sally attempted to roll forward a little, but was unable to.

"Don't," Lightning murmured. "You're going to hurt yourself more."

Sally stopped. "Yeah, like you ever listened to that," she said.

"Fair point," Lightning said.

Several minutes later, Mack and Doc arrived. Mack lowered his ramp and Lightning helped Sally up the ramp.

"He did get you pretty good," Doc said, examining Sally fifteen minutes later. "I already reported him to the police."

"Good," Lightning said angrily. He turned to Sally. "I tried to catch him," he said apologetically. "But my engine started acting weird so I had to stop."

"I'm glad you slowed down," Sally said.

"Yeah," Doc agreed. "What did your engine start doing?"

"Just vibrating," Lightning said.

"How fast were you going?" Doc asked.

"One hundred and twenty," Lightning replied.

"Really?" Doc asked, seeming satisfied.

"Yeah," Lightning said, surprised Doc wasn't angry. "Why?"

"You can go up to one hundred and ten then," Doc said. "I thought your engine would give out a one hundred and ten, but if it didn't then it's not going to."

"Cool," Lightning said happily.

"But don't do it often," Doc warned him.

"Okay," Lightning agreed.

Just then, the x-ray machine finished developing Sally's x-rays. Doc got it and held it up to the light.

"There are no breaks or fractures," Doc said. "But I think your wheel axle is displaced."

"Is that really bad?" Sally asked nervously.

"It's not good," Doc said. "But it's better than a break or a fracture."

"Okay," Sally said. "What is the treatment for it?"

"I'm going to have to put it back in place," Doc said.

"That's going to hurt, isn't it?" Sally asked.

"Well, yeah," Doc said. "But we don't have a choice."

"Just get it over with then," Sally said.

"Okay," Doc said. "Rookie, go over and get on her left side and press up against her."

"Okay," Lightning said. He did as Doc ordered.

Doc got a medium sized contraption off of a shelf and attached it to Sally's wheel and side. "This is going to increase the denting to," he said. "Press up against her hard, Kid."

Lightning leaned against Sally with all his might. Doc would up the appliance and released it. The machine jolted into Sally, who jolted into Lightning. Lighting heard a sharp pop.

"You okay?" Lightning asked quickly.

"Yeah," Sally said, taking a deep breath. "Wow."

"You're tough, Kid," Doc said. He took the appliance off. "Not many cars could go through that without making a sound.

"I'm surprised I didn't," Sally admitted. She grimaced.

"I'm going to have to fix the dents too," Doc said.

"Okay," Sally said. "Go ahead."

Doc hooked another appliance to Sally side, one that was very familiar to Lightning. It was the appliance Doc had used on him to get dents out before.

Doc quickly turned a handle on the machine and Sally took a quick breath. Lightning soothed her quietly as her aluminum popped back out.

"You're done," Doc announced. "Your paint didn't get scratched, so I don't think you're going to have to get Ramon to redo it."

"Okay, Doc," Sally said. "Thank you so much."

"No problem," Doc said. "But don't worry we'll catch him. And you probably don't need to go over sixty for a week or so. You'll be sore for a while too."

"Okay, thanks, Doc," Sally said.

Two minutes later, Lightning and Sally drove out of the hospital.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lightning asked Sally, giving her a sideways glance.

"Yeah," Sally said. "Just a little shaken and sore."

"Okay," Lightning said. "Do you want something at Flo's?"

"Sure," Sally said. She pulled into Flo's parking lot and parked in one of the double spots. Lightning parked a good two feet away from her. Sally smiled at him.

"You're not going to kill me," she said, scooting over to Lightning and leaning against him.

"I know," Lightning said. "I'm just a little nervous. This is all new to me."

"Don't be nervous," Sally said. "I'm fine."

"Okay," Lightning said hesitantly.

Fifteen minutes later, Lightning and Sally got their fuel. They thanked Flo.

"You're an only child, right?" Lightning asked.

"Yes," Sally said. "Both my parents were only children too and my grandparents passed away. I'm the last Carrera."

"I always wondered what it would be like to be an only child," Lightning said. "Once I mentioned racing to my parents I was shunned from the family, so Dodger got the only child treatment."

"That's too bad," Sally; said. "You didn't get much attention, did you?"

"I did up until I was sixteen. That's when I started racing in the minor league type of thing," Lightning said. "But the good thing is at the moment I think my mom likes me better than Dodger."

"I would hope so," Sally said, laughing.

Twenty minutes later, Lightning and Sally left the diner.

"What do you want to do?" Lightning asked, looking into the sunset.

"I don't know," Sally replied.

"You know I love Radiator Springs, but there's not much to do here," Lightning said.

"Yeah," Sally agreed. "It'll be great when we get to L.A. My parents are going to love you."

"That's right, you're from L.A.," Lightning said. He gave Sally a sideways glance. "Are you sure they are going to like me?"

"Definitely," Sally said, resting up against Lightning.

"What about me?" Lightning asked.

"I don't know," Sally said. "You're a very likeable care though."

"Why thank you," Lightning said grinning. He leaned down and kissed Sally.

"Lightning!"

Lightning's eyes snapped open. He quickly backed away from Sally and turned around to see his parents.

"Oh," he said awkwardly. "Hi, mom, hi, dad."

"Hello, Lightning!" Skye said, beaming.

"Hey, Son," Lightning's father, Chevy, said.

"Chevy, I want you to meet Lightning's girlfriend, Sally," Skye said, still beaming.

"Nice to meet you, Sally," Chevy said, smiling.

"Likewise, Sir," Sally said.

"So, Son," Chevy said. "What type of training have you been doing?"

"Not much lately," Lightning said unhappily. "I had an engine-attack three days ago and I have another four days before I can start training again."

"You had an engine-attack?" Skye asked, her eyes wide.

"Yeah," Lightning said. "I don't think it was a severe one though."

"Yes it was. And you need to take it easy" Sally said sternly.

"I know, I know," Lightning said, smiling at her.

"Have you two already eaten?" Skye asked.

"Yeah," Lightning replied. "But we're both beat. Sally had a wreck today and I'm still exhausted from the engine attack."

"You had a wreck today?" Skye asked.

"Yes, Chick Hicks rammed into me in Ornament Valley," Sally replied.

"We heard about that on the radio on the way over here!" Chevy said. "All it said was Chick Hicks was being searched for because he was under arrest. There weren't any details."

Lightning nodded and yawned. "They'll get him."

"I hope so," Skye said. "But you look exhausted. You two get to bed."

"Will do," Lightning said. "See you guys in the morning."

"Goodnight," Skye and Chevy said in unison.

"Goodnight," Sally said, smiling at Lightning's parents.

"Goodnight, kids," Chevy said.

Lightning drove into the Cozy Cone's parking lot and headed towards his cozy cone.

"You have to stay with me, remember?" Sally asked. "You can't be by yourself."

"Oh yeah," Lightning said, turning around. He drove into the Cozy Cone's office and parked. "My dad and I have always had an awkward relationship," he admitted.

"Why?" Sally asked curiously.

"I don't know," Lightning said. "It's just been like that. He's always favored Dodger because he was bigger and he could join the military."

"Oh," Sally said. She leaned up against Lightning and sighed.

"Are you tired too?" Lightning asked.

"Yeah," Sally said. She shut her eyes and shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"Are you sore?" Lightning asked.

"A little," Sally replied.

"Can I do anything to help?" Lightning asked.

"No, I'm fine," Sally said.

"Okay," Lightning replied. "Goodnight, Babe."

"Goodnight," Sally replied.

Lightning drifted into sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.

"Don't do it, Kid!" Doc exclaimed.

"I don't listen to your advice anymore!" Lightning said angrily. He floored his engine and drove into the narrow space between Chick and the wall. Chick slammed up against Lightning, blowing Lightning's tire out. As Lightning flipped through the air, his paint did an odd thing. It turned from fire engine red to soft lavender. It was Sally. Sally flipped through the air just as Lightning had, being hit by one car after another.

"Lightning!"

Lightning jumped awake. Sally was parked next to him wide awake.

"You're okay!" Lightning said, sighing in relief.

"Of course I am," Sally said calmly. "You were only dreaming."

"Thank goodness," Lightning said. He knew he had had the dream because of Sally's wreck. "I'm going out."

"It's three in the morning!" Sally exclaimed.

"I know," Lightning said. "I'm just going for a drive."

"Do you want me to come?" Sally asked.

"No, you're fine," Lightning said. He left the office and drove down the main road towards Ornament Valley. He picked up speed to where he was going about one hundred miles per hour. Several minutes later Lightning arrived in Ornament Valley.

Once he was there, Lightning crept quietly, looking for Chick. He found the spot where Chick had rammed into Sally and followed Chick's tracks. Chick had made clear imprints in the dirt. Lightning picked up speed and followed the tracks for ten or fifteen miles until the tracks veered sharply to the right. He followed the tracks to a large rock and saw the outline of Chick in the moonlight. Lightning quietly called Doc.

"Hello?" Doc asked, obviously woken up by the phone.

"I found Chick," Lightning said quietly.

"Where are you, Kid?" Doc asked, waking up slightly.

"Ornament Valley," Lightning replied.

"I'll send the police," Doc said. "Stay where you are. I'm getting your GPS coordinates right now from your phone. I'll be out there in a few minutes."

"Okay," Lightning said. "See you in a few."

Doc hung up his phone.

Lightning sat and waited for fifteen minutes. Four police cars arrived along with Doc.

"Let's wake him up," one of the officers said.

"I can do that," Lightning said, driving up to the sleeping car.

"Hey, Chick!" Lightning said loudly.

The sleeping car jumped awake. "McQueen!"

"Yeah, it's me," Lightning said. "I brought a few friends along too."

Chick glanced behind Lightning and saw the police officers accompanied by Doc.

"You see, Chick," Lightning said, circling Chick. "You can mess with me all you want, but what you can't do is mess with my girl."

Chick revved his engine and rammed into Lightning's side, but because Lightning had titanium sides, it only dented Chick's hood.

"Oops," Lightning said. He turned towards the officers. "Take him away, guys."

"I'll get you for this, McQueen," Chick said angrily.

"Whatever, Chick," Lightning said. He drove over to Doc.

"Are you ready to go home?" he asked Doc.

"Yeah, Kid," Doc said. "Let's go."

"See you in a couple of hours," Lightning said once he and Doc both arrived back in Radiator Springs.

"Okay, Kiddo, good work," Doc said.

"Thanks," Lightning said. He turned into the Cozy Cone's office and parked beside Sally. Lightning fell asleep within minutes.

"Lightning, wake up," called a voice.

Lightning woke up slowly to find Mater.

"I heard about yur arrestin' of Chick las' night!" Mater said excited. "Good job, Bud!"

"Thanks, Mater," Lightning said grinning.

"Yup!" Mater said. "Anyways, Doc wanted me ta tell ya to git down ta Willy's Butte as soon as yur done sleepin'!"

"Okay, thanks, Mater," Lightning said. "Are you up for some tractor tipping tonight?"

"I sure is!" Mater exclaimed.

"Sounds good then," Lightning said. "I'll see you tonight."

"Bye, Bud!" Mater said happily.

Lightning drove down to Willy's Butte. He saw Sally, his parents, and Doc were all gathered by the side of the track.

"What's going on?" Lightning asked.

"Training," Doc said. "You're late."

"Are you serious?" Lightning exclaimed. "What am I doing?"

"Seeing how many laps you can go around flooring it," Doc said.

"I'm not going to have another attack, am I?" Lightning asked.

"The recovery period for your type of heart attack is two days," Doc said. "We told you a week so you would take it easy."

Lightning grinned despite his being lied to. "Okay," he said eagerly.

"And if you do this well today we're going to L.A. next week," Doc continued. "Go ahead and stretch."

Lightning stretched his wheel axles, cringing as the bad one let out a pop.

"You okay?" Doc asked.

"Yeah," Lightning said. "That happens every time. How many laps should I aim for?"

"Fifty," Doc said.

"But I only made it to thirty-six last time!" Lightning exclaimed.

"Just get out there," Doc said.

"Okay," Lightning said.

Lightning pulled out onto the track and took off. It felt amazing to fly around the turns again, the wind racing him. Before Lightning knew it, he had finished his five hundredth lap.

"That was amazing!" Sally said, rushing up to him as he pulled off of the track.

Lightning kissed Sally and grinned. He drove up to Doc to await his approval.

"You've got stuff, Kid," Doc said.

"Thanks, Doc," Lightning said, grinning.

"Does anything hurt?" Doc asked.

"No," Lightning said truthfully.

"Good," Doc said. "I'll schedule hotel rooms then."

That night, after everyone was asleep, Lightning crept quietly down to Mater's towing lot.

"Are you ready, Mater?" Lightning asked.

"Yup!" Mater said.

Together, the racecar and the tow truck made their way down to the tractor field. All of the tractors were fast asleep.

"You go first, Mater," Lightning said.

"Okay, Bud!" Mater said. He drove slyly up to one of the tractors and blew his horn.

The tractor let out an alarmed sound and tipped over backwards. Several seconds later, the tractor omitted a sound of flatulence.

Mater burst into laughter. "Those tractors! They is so dumb!"

Lightning grinned. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"I sure is!" Mater said happily. "Go ahead, Bud! Git all of 'em to do it again!"

"Okay, Mater," Lightning laughed. He drove to the closest tractor and revved his engine as loud as he could. All of the tractors in the field reacted the same way they had with Mater.

Mater cracked up behind Lightning. "Good job, Bud!"Just then, an angry sound erupted from behind the trees.

"Let's go, Mater!" Lightning shouted. He knew the sound came from Frank.

Mater shot out ahead of Lightning. Lightning laughed and sped after Mater. Frank was five feet from Lightning's spoiler when Lightning made it through the gate leaving the pasture.

"That was fun!" Mater laughed. "We gotta do that again soon, Bud!"

"We will, Mater," Lightning said. "I'm better, so it's all good."

"Well that sounds great!" Mater said. "I'll see ya tomorrow, Bud!"

"Okay, Mater," Lightning replied. He drove back to the Cozy Cone's office where Sally was reading. Lightning pulled up next to Sally and read what she was reading. It was incredibly difficult chemistry.

"Why do you like me?" Lightning asked.

"What do you mean?" Sally asked.

"You're so smart," Lightning said. "I'm not."

"You're smart," Sally said.

"Not really," Lightning said.

"From what your mom said, you were an "A" and "B" student," Sally said.

"Yeah," Lightning said. "I could never do anything like that though."

"I've always been interested in science," Sally said.

"And because you were interested in science, you became an attorney?" Lightning asked dryly.

Sally smiled. "I always wanted to be an attorney. But, science is my thing and racing is yours. I bet you know all the statistics about every Piston Cup winner."

"That I do," Lightning said.

The next morning, Lightning did six hundred laps around Willy's Butte. He went to tell Doc. Because it took several hours to go around Willy's Butte, Doc did not feel like waiting. Doc had implanted a chip into Lightning's hood so he could monitor his engine rate.

"Six hundred," Lightning announced, rolling into Doc's office door.

"Great, Kiddo," Doc said. "Take the rest of the week off."

"What?" Lightning asked, appalled. "I have to train!"

"Don't kill yourself, Kid," Doc said sternly.

"I'm not going to!" Lightning said "But I need to train!"

"No, you don't," Doc said, getting angry.

"I do!" Lightning said. "You don't know what it's like?"

"Oh, I don't, do I?" Doc challenged him.

Not knowing what else to say, Lightning sped out of Doc's office and sped down the street. He was going to see Sally but decided against it. Lightning floored his engine harder than ever before and sped around, burning rubber, and sprinted up to his headquarters. He burst through the door and sped into his office. Lightning put in the DVD of the race before his wreck.

He saw himself on the screen, easily passing cars and getting to the front. Several hours later, the race was over. Lightning had won by a full lap.

"Feel better?"

Lightning jumped. He spun around to see Sally.

"You heard about the argument?" he asked lowly.

"Yeah," Sally said. She drove over to Lightning. I can understand you wanting to rush it; you've had a lot of setbacks, but I also think you should listen to Doc. He knows what he's talking about.

"I know," Lightning sighed. "But I want to race so badly."

"And you will," Sally said. "It's the off season now anyway, so there's no racing you're getting left out of."

"Fair point," Lightning said. "You know me though. I'm not the type to just sit around."

"Believe me, I know," Sally said, laughing quietly. "That's why I know you'll love L.A. when we get there."

"Yeah," Lightning agreed. "I probably need to apologize to Doc though."

"You do," Sally said.

Ten minutes later, Lightning and Sally arrived back in Radiator Springs and Lightning drove into Doc's office.

"I'm sorry," Lightning said quietly, not making eye contact.

"It's fine, Kiddo," Doc said. "I know how you feel. The new season starts in a month and you'll be ready, I promise."

Lightning grinned. "Just someone saying that sounds amazing."

Doc laughed. "The racing sports network called. They want to know if you'd be interesting in making a little speech after the race if you win."

"Tell them I will," Lightning said. "I was hoping they would."

"Why's that?" Doc asked.

"Well…," Lightning said hesitantly. "I…was going to propose to Sally…"

"You were?" Doc asked, stiffening.

"Well, yeah," Lightning said uneasily.

"Well that's a good thing," Doc said noncommittally.

"You think so?" Lightning asked nervously. "You don't think I'm rushing it?"

Doc shrugged. "You two seem to get along well. She's the only car you listen to all of the time."

"I listen to you most of the time!" Lightning retorted.

"Sometimes," Doc said.

Lightning shrugged. "Thanks for your advice, Doc. I need to go spend time with my parents now though."

"Sure, Kid," Doc said. "I'll see you later."

A week later, Lightning arrived in L.A. with Doc, Sally, and his parents.

"When do I start training?" Lightning asked eagerly, looking at the palm trees.

"Tomorrow morning," Doc said. "Just relax for now. Go sightseeing."

"Okay," Lightning replied. He wanted to train, but sightseeing wasn't too bad of an option. Lightning turned to Sally. "Where do you want to go?" he asked her.

"There are so many places!" Sally said excitedly. "But I really want you to meet my parents!"

"Why don't you call them and see if they want us to meet them for dinner?" Lightning asked.

"Okay," Sally said. She turned around, dialing on her phone.

All of a sudden, a civilian of the city called out: "Hey! There's Lightning McQueen!"

A crowd of cars surrounded Lightning.

"Mr. McQueen!" a car called out. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good," Lightning said. "Give me space, guys."

The crowd eventually dispersed.

"My parents are meeting us at our hotel for dinner," Sally said.

"What are their names?" Lightning asked.

"Mercedes and Cliff Carrera," Sally replied.

"Okay, cool," Lightning said. He was nervous about meeting Sally's parents.

"So where do you want to go?" Sally asked.

"Anywhere you want to," Lightning replied.

"Okay," Sally said. She thought for a moment. "You've been to the racing museum here, right?"

"No," Lightning said. "It's probably the only one I haven't been in."

"Do you want to go there?" Sally asked.

"Only if you want to, Sally," Lightning said. "Don't feel obligated to."

"I want to," Sally said. "Follow me."

The two cars said goodbye to Doc and the McQueens and headed down the busy street to the Los Angeles Racing Museum. Lightning eagerly entered the building and was surprised to see familiar faces inside the door.

"Hey, Mr. the King!" Lightning greeted the older car.

"Well hey there, Lightning!" the King said. "How're you healing up?"

"Really well," Lightning said. "How's the retired life working out for you?"

"It's okay," the King said. "Not very exciting though."

"I can imagine," Lightning said. "Are you still following the racing season though?"

"Oh yeah," said the King. "I miss it."

"I would too," Lightning said. "I kind of know how you feel."

"Yeah," the King agreed. "But anyway, I have a meeting with Dinoco at one, so I'd better get going. Good luck next season, Lightning."

"Thanks, Mr. the King," Lightning said.

For the next two and a half hours, Lightning and Sally went through the different exhibits. They skipped Chick's exhibit. The last exhibit surprised Lightning. It was about him.

"I didn't expect this," he muttered to Sally.

The exhibit captured his first season of racing and how he sacrificed his Piston Cup to enable the King to finish his last face. It also showed Lightning's wreck, the trial, and there was even a small bit on his engine attack.

"They really keep up with things well," Lightning said.

Thirty minutes later, Lightning and Sally headed to their hotel rooms to rest clean up for dinner.

"Are you excited?" Sally asked, rolling into Lightning's hotel room.

"About what?" Lightning asked sleepily.

"Meeting my parents," Sally replied.

"Yeah," Lightning said, shutting his eyes. "A little nervous though."

"Don't be," Sally responded. "They'll love you."

"I hope so," Lightning said groggily.

"Are you okay?" Sally asked.

"Mhmm," Lightning said. "Just tired. I don't think I'm over my attack completely."

"Rest up," Sally said. "I'll wake you up in an hour."

"Sounds good," Lightning said, falling asleep.

An hour later, Sally woke Lightning up. Lightning took a quick shower and drove with Sally downstairs to the five-star restaurant.

"I don't see them yet," Sally murmured, mainly to herself. She looked around with a frown, but then her face lit up. "There they are!" she said, gesturing over to a table where dark blue and silver Porsches were parked.

Sally drove up to them, Lightning right behind her. "Mom, Dad, this is Lightning."

Cliff Carrera turned to Lightning and shook wheels with him. "It's good to meet you," he said in a deep voice. "We've heard all about you. I'm a big fan myself."

"It's good to meet you, Sir," Lightning said. He turned to Mrs. Carrera to greet her.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Lightning," she said.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ma'am," Lightning responded politely.

"Well," said Mr. Carrera, "let's not waste time. I don't know about you two, but we're famished."

"So are we, Sir," Lightning responded.

An hour and a half later, all four cars had finished their food.

"That was delightful," said Mrs. Carrera. "It was truly wonderful meeting you, Lightning."

"It was great meeting you too," Lightning said, grinning. "Your daughter is a very special car," he added, glancing lovingly down at Sally.

"That she is," Mr. Carrera agreed.

"Could I have a word with you, Mr. Carrera?" Lightning asked, gesturing to the hallway outside the restaurant.

"Sure, Son," Cliff said, following Lightning into the hall.

"I would like to marry your daughter," Lightning said.

"You seem confident in your decision," Cliff observed.

"I am, Sir," Lightning said. "She is the one."

"Very confident," Cliff repeated. "I respect you, Lightning. I don't like cars who avoid the question they are asking by bringing up random small talk."

"I'm the same way," Mr. Carrera," Lightning said, wanting his permission desperately.

"The problem is," Mr. Carrera said, "I'm not sure I'm ready to let her go."

"Oh," Lightning said, his tank sinking.

"But," Cliff said, "I doubt I will ever be completely ready, so yes, you have my permission to marry my daughter."

"Thank you, Sir!" Lightning said excitedly, shaking Cliff's wheel.

Fifteen minutes later, Lightning and Sally said goodbye to Sally's parents.

"That went well," Lightning commented.

"Yeah," Sally agreed. "Are you ready to turn in?"

"Yeah," Lightning said, pressing a button for the twelfth floor of the hotel.

"What did you ask my dad about?" Sally asked.

"I just told him to give me a call if he wanted season tickets," Lightning shrugged.

"That was nice," Sally said.

"I'm just a nice car," Lightning said, arriving at his hotel room.

"That you are," Sally said. "Goodnight, Lightning."

"'Night," Lightning said. He kissed Sally, smiled at her, and entered his room.

The next morning, Doc woke Lightning up at six. Sally was already up.

"Why so early?" Lightning asked groggily.

"We're going to have a hard day," Doc replied. "Lots of training."

"Sounds good to me!" Lightning said excitedly.

An hour later, Lightning had eaten breakfast and was stretching, ready to warm up.

"Go ahead and drive around once at one hundred," Doc instructed Lightning through the intercom.

"Okay," Lightning said, revving his engine and shooting off around the track. The asphalt under Lightning's tires felt as smooth as silk as he ripped down the straight, easily going into the turns and arriving back at Doc within a minute.

"How'd it feel, Rookie?" Doc asked.

"Great!" Lightning said excitedly. The road is so smooth!"

Doc laughed. "It's a lot different from Willy's Butte," he agreed. "Go ahead and floor it for a couple laps and tell me how it feels."

"Okay," Lightning agreed. He shot down the track, racing the wind and increasing his speed to over two hundred miles per hour.

"Great job, Kiddo," Doc said several minutes later.

"Thanks!" Lightning said eagerly. "What's next?"

"Take a quick drink," Doc said.

"Okay," Lightning agreed. He drove over to the fuel container and drank four deep swallows. He then drove back to Doc. "What's next?"

"Next, you're going to race," Doc said.

"What?" Lightning asked.

"Come on out, boys!" Doc called towards the entrance of the track.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.

This is the final chapter!! Tell me if you liked it or not!!! Do I need to stop writing all together??? Please comment and tell me what you think of my writing and my story telling skills!! Please!!??

Just then, about twenty of Lightning's competitors drove out onto the track. The pit crews were accompanying each car. Lightning spotted Guido and Luigi amongst them.

"This is awesome!" Lightning exclaimed.

"I figured you'd appreciate it," Doc said. "Now go line up."

"Okay," Lightning said eagerly. He lined up beside a green car. Lightning glanced over and was shocked to find it was Chick.

"What are you doing here?" Lightning asked coldly.

"Hey, I'm not the one who asked to be here," Chick said. "It was your crew chief who called mine."

"Doc," Lightning said angrily through his intercom system. "Why is he here?"

"You're going to have to race him," Doc said. "And he's your number one competitor right now anyway."

"Okay," Lightning said. "I'll trust you on that one."

"Good," Doc said. "Now get ready for the start."

"Okay," Lightning said grinning.

"Cars start your engines!" Doc called through the loud speaker. "This is a five hundred lap race!"

Lightning started his engine and revved it loudly.

"And go!"

Lightning shot out onto the track ahead of the other cars.

"Don't waste yourself, Kid," Doc warned him.

"Okay," Lightning said, steadying his pace.

Four hundred laps later, Lightning was in third place behind Chick and Hollister.

"You holding up okay, Kid?" Doc asked.

"Yeah," Lightning said. "I'm a little tired, but I'll live."

"Okay, Kid," Doc said. "Just be careful out there."

"I will," Lightning replied.

Ninety-eight laps later, Lightning was in fifth place, but started to pull forward. He passed three cars easily and ended up in second behind Chick. There was an opening in the middle that he could easily make it through.

"Go for it, Kiddo!" Doc cried.

"I am," Lightning said, flooring his engine. But right before he passed Chick, Chick swerved, blocking Lightning. Chick finished first.

"No!" Lightning said angrily.

"Relax, Kid," Doc said, the disappointment showing in his voice. "You get him on race day."

"I hope so," Lightning said, extremely upset.

Over the next month, Lightning trained harder than ever. He trained at least five hours daily, sometimes twice a day. Lightning drank nothing except for electrolyte fuel and weight lifted five times a week for four hours at a time.

"You need to slow down," Sally said one morning as Lightning left for the track.

"I've got to win," Lightning said. "If I don't, I don't know what I'm going to do!"

"Your race is three days away," Sally said. "You're going to be too tired to race."

"I'm taking tomorrow and Saturday off," Lightning said defensively.

"And today," Doc said, pulling up at Lighting's hotel room door. "Come on, Kid, let's go for a drive."

Lightning sighed angrily but did not argue. He followed him downstairs and out the front door.

"So have you gotten her the ring yet?" Doc asked.

"I was going to do tomorrow," Lightning said defensively.

"The store is closed Fridays and Saturdays," Doc replied.

"Oh," Lightning said. He entered the jewelry store behind Doc.

An hour later, Lightning sand Doc left the store. Lightning picked a platinum ring with a glistening diamond in the middle.

"I hope she likes this," Lightning mumbled.

Three days later, Lightning was in the back of Mack's trailer, awaiting his first introduction in almost a year. The ramp lowered itself and Lightning drove down into a silent field. He knew it was a sign of respect. Lightning grinned, sank down on one wheel, sending a beam of light streaming from his chrome sticker.

"Ka Chow!" he exclaimed.

The crowd around him erupted, louder than ever before. Lightning grinned wider and drove the rest of the way down the ramp and into the restricted section.

"You ready, Kid?" Doc asked.

"As much as I'm going to be," Lightning replied. He looked over to his pit crew, today consisting of Guido, Luigi, Mater, Fillmore, Sally, Sally's parents, and his parents."

He drove over to the group before he was called to the track.

"Hey," Sally said.

"Hi," Lightning said, hugging her.

"Are you ready?" Sally asked.

"I hope so," Lightning said.

"You are," Sally said. "You've worked so hard for this."

Just then, the loudspeaker called the racecars to the track.

"I'll see you in five hundred laps," Lightning said, backing away.

"Wait!" Sally said. She drove up to Lightning and kissed him. "Good luck, Lightning. Be safe."

Lightning kissed Sally back. "You know me," he said, backing up to see a tear slide down Sally's hood. "Don't worry about me."

"I'll try," Sally said.

Lightning smiled and drove onto the track. "Can you hear me, Doc?"

"Loud and clear, Kiddo," Doc replied through the intercom system.

"Good," Lightning said. He backed into the correct position and glanced at the large screen television in the infield. He saw himself and Sally saying goodbye to one another."

"Remember, Rookie," Doc said. "Float like a Cadillac…"

"…and sting like a Beamer," Lightning said.

"Racers start your engines!" the speaker called.

Lightning started his engine and watched the green flag that was slowly being raised by the track official. The crowd was silent as it was raised to its highest point. The flag seemed to be raised at that exact elevation for ages, until it was suddenly dropped.

Lightning shot out onto the track, along with forty-two other competitors. He settled in first place for ten laps when Chick passed him. Lightning kept behind Chick for half the race when they needed to take a pit stop.

Lightning pulled into his pit area. Within seconds, he had new tires, gas, and a kiss on the cheek from Sally. He shot out of the pit area and onto the track. Lightning floored his engine and pulled into first place. He stayed in first until there were three laps left in the race when Chick shot by him.

"No you don't, Chick!" Lightning called after him. He floored his engine even harder and caught up with one lap to go.

Other racecars that were being lapped were blocking Lightning's way. All that was open was a narrow space between Chick and the wall. Lightning saw his wreck replay in his head over and over again as he floored his engine to go through the space. Once Lightning was hood to hood with Chick, Chick slammed into Lightning. Sparks flew from the titanium on Lightning's sides, but Lightning did not back down. He fought harder against Chick and made it though. Lightning floored his engine as hard as he possibly could and took the last three turns by himself, crossing the finish line fifty yards ahead of the car that finished in second.

"Yes!" he cried, happiness flooding through him as he drove into victory lane. He drove up to the first place podium and grinned as thousands of fans roared louder than before.

"Thank you," he said into the microphone. His voice echoed into the huge stadium. "Almost a year ago, as all of you know, I was in a wreck. I had to get new titanium, a new engine, my wheel axle was crushed, I had a severe concussion, and many other injuries. But it didn't matter. It was a bump in the track that I had to jump. Just because I won today doesn't mean I was the best racecar out there. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't give up. If anyone of you out there ever hit an obstacle that seems impossible to go around, fight it. Several questions are running through my mind right now. All but one is answered so far. Why would one car try to sabotage another's career? He didn't try to ruin my career. He obviously did not know my tire would blow out. Why would that same car try to injure an innocent bystander in order to get to me? Disparity. And before the last question is asked, I need to say thank you to a few people. Firstly, my trainer, crew chief, and doctor, Doc Hudson. I would not be out here if it wasn't for him. He operated on me and saved me countless times. Next, my girlfriend, Sally Carrera. If it hadn't been for her keeping me in line, I would have reinjured myself a lot more than I did. Also, my best friend, Mater, who always brought a laugh. My parents offered a lot of support to me. Everybody back home at Radiator Springs also deserves a thank you for various reasons."

Lightning glanced down to Sally and smiled.

"My last question isn't for me to answer, but here it is: Sally Carrera, will you marry me?"

Sally's eyes were huge and tear-filled.

"Come on up, Sally," Lightning said, grinning at the Porsche.

Sally made her way up to the microphone, tears spilling down her hood, but smiling. She took a deep breath and said: "Yes!"

Lightning grinned and kissed Sally. He drove up to the microphone again. "I apologize, ladies and gentle cars," he said. "But I made a mistake. "I thank Sally Carrera, my fiancé, not my girlfriend, for being there for me the whole time and keeping me from reinjuring myself."

The crowd broke out into loud applause and cheers as Lightning grinned down at Sally.

Later that day, Lightning loaded into his trailer with Sally. They were going to his next race in Palm Beach, Florida. It was the beginning of a new racing season, and a new engagement with the love of his life. Lightning knew it was all going to be great.


End file.
